Paddy cultivation is one of the main sources of livelihood, employment and
contributors to human nutrition in the rural communities in Sri Lanka. Gender dynamics is
an essential element of socio-economic analysis. This research, investigated the gender
dynamics in paddy cultivation of three major ethnic communities namely, Sinhala, Tamil and
Muslim, in a selected major irrigation scheme in the Vavuniya district. A total number of 156
farm families, including 63 Sinhalese, 63 Tamil and 30 Muslim, were proportionately and
randomly selected through stratified sampling technique. A combination of Participatory
Rural Appraisal (PRA) tools and a questionnaire survey were used to collect data during
Maha season 2010/2011. Among the three communities, household reproductive (non-
income generating) activities were mostly done by females (93%). Land assets were owned
mostly by males (62%), and almost all the machineries were also owned by male family
members, thus giving them the access and control over the resources. Both males and
females were involved in decision-making related to household activities (81%). However, in
all three communities, the major decisions regarding paddy cultivation were either made or
influenced by males. The involvement of males in paddy cultivation was higher (71%) than
the females in the three communities. In the Sinhala community, involvement of females in
paddycultivationwasone-and-a-halfandthreetimeshigherincomparisontothe
involvement of females in Tamil and Muslim communities, respectively. Females in the
Muslim community got hardly engaged in any field work in paddy cultivation due to their
cultural norms. In all three communities, females were placed in an important position in the
family to attend to the nutrition, hygiene, childcare, health and education (non-income
generating tasks) in comparison to their male counterparts. However, with regard to
productive tasks (paddy farming) there were considerable gender differences with regard to
ownership and control of resources, decision-making power and involvement in different
activities, placing females in a disadvantageous position.