Celebrating WOMEN: Women’s Photography Exhibition 2011

4 Apr, 2011 Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai Colombo, Gender, Identity, Photos

“Men ~ their rights, and nothing more; WOMEN~ their rights, and nothing less.” ~ Susan Brownell Anthony (15^th February 1820 ~ 13^th March 1906, American Women’s Rights Activist, Civil Rights leader and suffragist)

Journalism is still a heavily male dominated field in Sri Lanka. Women are slowly but steadily getting into the field of journalism. On the other hand, we are mostly assigned to cover “soft” issues such as to handle the women’s page of a newspaper or cover culture or sub edit stories. We are hardly and rarely assigned to cover conflict or sports, because male journalists and editors think that these are “hard” issues women are unable to cover. Women are equally dedicated, determined, educated, focused and of course talented. We have proven our talents over the years, while standing side by side and shoulder to shoulder on the field with men to cover from disaster to design.

34 women photographers participated in the Women’s Photography Exhibition 2011. The exhibition was organised by the Women and Media Collective. The event was organised to celebrate the International Women’s Day. It was held at the Harold Peiris Gallery in Colombo. It was held from 25 - 27 March 2011.

The photography exhibition displayed the work of women, from professionals to amateurs, and featured a wide range of photography, from travel photography to portraiture to wildlife photography. The photographers featured were: