Calling Out Misogyny: The Primitive Prejudice Against Independent Women
Photo courtesy of iPleaders
As qualified as some women are for various high positions, many choose to shun the limelight as they want to get on with bettering themselves, taking care of their families and their inner circles rather than dealing with the male-dominated world that is so frustratingly and predictably misogynistic in so many ways.
Sri Lanka, for instance, is made up of over 50 percent women yet in 2025 those in high office are less than five percent both in the professional and corporate world and/or particularly in the political sphere, which is definitely made up of the seedy side of misogyny. This has never been more obvious than in the recent barrage of relentless attacks on the current female prime minister, especially now in the face of the failure of the Department of Education in printing a children’s text book that was not properly vetted before it went to print.
The scandal here is that a children’s text book went into print without proper oversight and editing. Yes, public money was wasted due to this debacle. We should be demanding accountability, demanding an inquiry into who vetted the final version of the book before it went to print, who it was that failed the nation and who in the system allowed this to happen.
Instead, the country’s vicious internet trolls, backed by some political figures in the opposition, made it all about a woman and her body. Humiliation of a female prime minister seemed more important than the administrative failure that should be addressed. Instead of demanding and getting answers as to how such gross failure of the system took place, and possibly even sabotage, instead all the public discourse became suffused with opportunistic innuendo, gossip about public figures’ private lives and unsolicited opinions on why a woman is not married, that if she has chosen not to bear children, something must be wrong with the woman, she must be something less than a woman, thus turning this terrible financial loss to the nation into a misogynistic attack on the female prime minister instead.
Many mistakes and lapses have occurred in political matters in the past few decades but no such attacks have taken place, no ugly stories spread about unmarried men who failed the system. In fact no one has even pressed for or received accountability in such situations. Now, these same men who failed the system have become self-styled judges on morality and talk publicly about “cultural failures”. What culture – and what morality – are they talking about?
What we, the people, need to hear is that there will be a speedy inquiry, that the official report will be published urgently, that the names of those involved in what is quite possibly sabotage are identified and what the government is going to do to ensure this never happens again and that there will be proper protocols put in place where institutional failures don’t cost the nation the loss of vast amounts of public funds.
Instead, the relentless ugly and vulgar attacks by keyboard trolls, some hidden in cowardly anonymity, backed by some opportunistic politicians in the opposition, continue unabated. However, this public slandering of a woman is not going down well. Wherever our political affiliations lie, we don’t want to see any woman treated in this crass and truly offensive manner, dissecting every fibre of her being to invent scandalous gossip. Remarks about her being unmarried, not having children and the implication that therefore, somehow, she is less suited as a leader and a public representative of the country has been relentless. Independent, strong women bring out the worst in the ranks of misogynists who, while they are mostly men, also comprise women, steeped in the idea of patriarchy, who spew systemic hatred and shade at women who did not adapt by internalising patriarchal norms the way they themselves did. Women are grossly under-represented in public office, which means a woman’s needs, priorities and viewpoints are never taken into account when government policies are formulated. And clearly those who do make it to the top tier are continually undermined. This is a loss to the whole nation.
Patriotism, culture and religion have often become synonymous with those who actually failed the system, and particularly the citizens who elected them. These individuals are now beating the loudest drum. Those who did not have moral compass when they were tested have now turned into judge and jury. What patriotism is embodied by men who brought the nation into a state of weakness and vulnerability? What culture where women and girls are not safe in public spaces anymore? What religion when we as a nation have neither empathy nor forgiveness in our hearts?
Everyone has a mother, sisters and other females in their inner circles and would not allow any one of them to be attacked the same way and stand by silently but in public social spheres, including that of social media, many are willing to show a lack of respect based on gender. Whoever thought that this frenzy would win them accolades made a huge mistake. Never before have we seen public support for the prime minister simply because she is a woman. Fair-minded women and men don’t appreciate this filthy side of politics, regardless of their political affiliations and they are loud in their own response at calling out anonymous keyboard trolls demanding that they need a lesson in decorum and fair play.
Normalising what is obviously wrong is not okay in a fair and just society. Let them get back to governance and judge them on that and not throw stains on their personal lives.
This debacle does not warrant such a vile response in order to satisfy the lust for humiliation of a woman. It instead should demand proper investigation and accountability for those who failed the nation, and at great financial cost, at a time when we are recovering from a crisis of great magnitude.
Finally, most misogynists attack women who are independent, fearless and quite frankly do not care what the world thinks of them, if they believe that what they are doing is right and just. Trying to break down a woman by calling her names, trying to humiliate her in public, implying that unmarried women are somehow not worthy of respect is not just shameful; it shows lack of moral compass and bankruptcy of real argument. The cheap resort to personal attacks when the arguments are void of real debate and full of over-reaching misogyny is not characteristic of men only. Some women too seem to enjoy degrading other women.
We have seen and continue to see personal insults heaped on our prime minister in memes, social media and the digital platforms hosted mostly by keyboard trolls. We have seen these repeated attacks on other females who have dared to believe that they too can make a difference for the nation by going into politics or for using their voice to speak out for truth and justice.
Who in the Department of Education failed the nation? Who was it who edited the final text and sent it to print? Who was the saboteur, if there was one? Whose was the incompetence in allowing such an error to go unchallenged? One doesn’t have to have a high IQ to conclude that there is something wanting in the Education Department or at the government printers, assuming it was they who printed it. And getting to the bottom of this and demanding the paying back of the monies spent and jail time, if this is sabotage, must be what our clarion call should be.
Whatever anyone’s personal opinion on governance is or is not, there should be no space for the ugliness, the misogyny, the vulgarity and sheer misogynistic attacks on the prime minister and other ladies in government. This behaviour is frankly reprehensible and it is demoralising and often shocking to even see other women taking the same line of attack as if they joined the feeding frenzy set by the men. Following the lead, they smelled blood, so the darker the tale, the more the trolls get excited. It is disheartening to see this ugly side of humanity, braying for the blood of a woman, so prevalent in this country. The greater majority of women in Sri Lanka have had to deal with misogyny, male dominance, male entitlement and men imposing their sexual frustration on women in public transport, the street, beaches and other public places. Where is this culture that the culture warriors are talking about when it is unsafe for women in our nation to get into public transport and feel safe?
Normalising what is obviously wrong is not okay in a fair and just society. Let them get back to governance and judge them on that and not throw stains on their personal lives. Let’s end the personalisation of politics, which seeks to humiliate a woman in order to satisfy the lust for humiliation of another.
It’s time to stop the misogyny and attacks on women. Women should be allowed equal space in society, which will only be richer for this inclusion. The official report must be published and urgently. Identifying where the money went, who the responsible party is and how safeguards are going to be added across the board to ensure this will never happen again is the need of the hour.
Most misogynists attack women who are independent, fearless and who are strong enough to not allow this shallow mindset against women to stop their own mission in life. Trying to break down a woman by calling her names, trying to humiliate her in public, implying that unmarried women are unworthy of dignity is not just shameful, it is cowardly and primitive. The failure of parents to bring up their children to be respectful adults needs to be called out. The cheap resort to personal attacks to affirm the social inequities promoted by misogyny is not seen in men only. There are women who have deep rooted biases against other women, especially strong, independent women and this is rooted in patriarchy. This must change.
The writers have been advocating for women’s rights for many years, Caryll Tozer as Founder of WIN, and both she and Devika Brendon as Co-Founders of the ESVN group, are engaged in raising awareness of the need to take action to prevent violence of all kinds against women.
