Up Country Tamils: Charting a New Future in Sri Lanka and other cultural issues. They usually seek justice for the male family members, but not for themselves. One reason for this is the threat and intimidation from estate management and service providers, especially police officers. Up-country Tamil women play subordinate roles, from their households to their work in the fields. Even though there is a women’s wing of most trade unions, called Mathar Sangam, women only play traditional roles here (Philips 2005). All these factors make women think of themselves as of secondary importance and to prioritise male family members’ issues. Twice the Economic Burden In the Up-country when something happens to one family member, the women suffer the most. They go to the police station to make a complaint or they try to seek help from trade unions, estate management, or any other institution that that they can think of. Further, women spend a large portion of their own income and savings to find their missing relatives or bail out an arrested person. “I spent my EPF money amounting to Rs600,000 in order to get him out. This is the only saving I had in my life”. – Mother, whose son was arrested in 2007, Ragala. In fact, this woman had spent this amount not on bail, but to bribe different intermediaries to facilitate the bail application. This statement clearly shows how women suffer economically, when the other person at home who contributes to the household income disappears. Up-country Tamil women are victimised twice over, as they not only lose the money that they already have, but 68