The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), on Tuesday, forwarded a statement from the Women’s Action Network, expressing concern on the plight of Tamil women coerced into joining the Sri Lankan military, reported the BBC. Latest reports have also indicated that at least 20 of these women have now been admitted into Kilinochchi district hospital, with many unconscious.
The statement outlines how the women were deceived and transported to military camps by the Sri Lankan army and forced by intimidation to stay.
According to TamilNet the women were signed up under the pretence that they would be performing clerical work in their respective residential areas.
The information provided to them had no mention of joining the military. Only at the military base did they realise that they were about to join the military. Several women immediately called their families, and informed the military that they did not wish to join.
See here for a full sequence of events.
Furthermore, according to the Sri Lanka Campaign, the military also intentionally preyed on young women, including “young widows and women who had to provide for seriously ill relatives”.
They also claimed to have received information reporting that at least 20 women who were recently recruited to the 6th Brigade of the Sri Lankan Army had been admitted to the Kilinochchi district hospital on December 11th, as did TamilNet. They further reported that many were unconscious and had been isolated from other patients, being treated only be Sri Lankan Army doctors and nurses.
