Arun Jentrick is on a mission to change policies in his home country, Sri Lanka, to better support women-led households.

The Western PhD candidate is leading a research project talking to women throughout this island nation. With each conversation, he’s identifying the factors that lead to female-headed households, the challenges these women face and the opportunities available to them within their homes and communities.

“Sri Lanka has been a patriarchal society for centuries. But as more women-led households emerge there, it's crucial to reform policies that address their unique cultural and personal needs,” says Arun, an experienced community development worker who’s partnered with groups like United Nations Population Funds, and is working toward his doctorate in gender, sexuality and women’s studies.

“In 1970, 15 per cent of households in Sri Lanka were led by women. But by 2019, that number had increased to 26 per cent, the fourth highest in South Asia.”

Located off the southern tip of India, the country gained independence from Britain in 1948 and officially became Sri Lanka in 1972. Its population consists of three major ethnic groups – Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslims. Decades of tensions between the Tamils and ruling Sinhalese led to a civil war from 1983 to 2009, with estimates of 80,000 to 100,000 deaths. Arun says the common belief is that the rise in women-headed households is largely due to men being killed in the war.

Yet, even as the numbers rise, Arun says these women remain invisible. A woman working to support her family still lacks the same respect as a man. If she needs a loan, banks assume she can’t pay it back. If a military widow remarries, she loses her government pension. And in Sri Lanka’s parliament, just 22 of 225 seats belong to women.

Arun travels the country, listening to women’s experiences—but getting them to open up isn’t easy. So he starts by sharing his own story.  

“Initially, the women don’t trust me. I’m seen as an outsider. But when I tell them I was raised in a woman-headed household, they speak more freely. They want their stories heard.”

With each story Arun uncovers, he is helping to fill the gap in data on post-war Sri Lanka, and offering insights for research in other post-conflict areas around the world. He hopes his work will help bring fairer treatment for women in Sri Lanka and shape Canadian foreign policy and humanitarian aid strategies.

For now, he believes better data can open minds and change perspectives.

“It’s about empowering women. When we change attitudes, everyone in the community can be respected.”