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Sri Lanka: Struggle for Franchise

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Part of the book series: Gender and Politics ((GAP))

Abstract

de Alwis and Kodikara’s chapter examines how Ceylon, renamed Sri Lanka in 1972, was the first British colony to achieve universal suffrage in 1931. In contrary to the popular narrative that Ceylonese women were presented with the vote and had no interest in politics or public affairs, the authors argue that the reality is far from the truth. The chapter shows how the demand for women’s suffrage was driven by Ceylonese political elite women and movement.

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References

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de Alwis, M., Kodikara, C. (2019). Sri Lanka: Struggle for Franchise. In: Franceschet, S., Krook, M.L., Tan, N. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-59074-9_24

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