Statelessness & Citizenship Review 2019 1(1) Would you say your ability to participate in the local, municipal, provincial or national political process has improved as a result of the 2003 grant of citizenship? Results by Region Total Women 21 Men 6 12 0 Women Figure 7 9 8 5 2 10 8 5 Dickoya 29 7 3 Passara 24 26 No 7 No Nanu Oya Yes 11 5 Dickoya 47 2 Passara 53 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Nanu Oya Yes Nuwara Eliya 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Nuwara Eliya Totals Men Figure 8 In sum, women are overrepresented in reporting that the ability to partake in the political process has not improved, and it should be noted that less than half of Passara’s female respondents and none of Dickoya’s female respondents indicated any improvement. 119 When asked whether access to the political process has improved since the 2003 grant of citizenship, the majority of interviewees (16/30) indicated that access has improved, with men predominating in this response (six women and 10 men). Among this 16, only two rural interviewees report an improvement in political participation, one of whom was too young to participate prior to 2003, suggesting that rural communities have been neglected in the post-2003 era. A perceived increased opportunity to become involved in the political process was the leading factor as to why interviewees perceived their access to have been improved since 2003. Among the initial 14 interviewees who reported no improvement in access and entitlement to political participation, the preference not to participate is the leading reason for the reported lack of improvement, with the distrust of politicians as the second leading reason. For instance, Privadharshani, a 27 year-old female from Nuwara Eliya, stated, ‘I’m not interested in politics. Listening to politicians is a waste of time, because only when they want our votes do they come and talk to us, but after they don’t do any work for us. This is why I hate politics’. 120 Mirroring such sentiment, 65-year-old Balasundaram, a 65-year-old female from Passara kept her comments short, ‘There’s nothing good about politics. Politicians do nothing for us’. 121 It should be noted that six of the seven who held a preference not to participate were women, and when combined with those women who stated that access had improved but chose not to participate, a total of 11/15 female interviewees have chosen not to 119 Figure 8. 120 Interview with Nuwara Eliya (Patrick Balazo, 10 August 2016). 121 Interview with Balasundaram (Patrick Balazo, 10 August 2016). 24