In late April, women from movements and collectives in the North and East marched into GotaGoGama in Galle Face to voice their concerns and issues in solidarity with the struggle in the South. From organizing satyagrahas on the streets against a plethora of issues to engaging with women headed households on solutions to overcome the economic crisis, women’s collectives have been playing a defining role within the delicate social fabric and local economies of communities in the North and East. Hardships these women have had to contend with on a daily basis have created the resourcefulness that they use to help keep their own communities going. Their presence at GotaGoGama was not a blanket statement against the use of the PTA to detain family members after the Easter Sunday Attack or the urgent need for justice and accountability after the war that has seemed elusive for more than a decade. These concerns were certainly voiced as well but like the thousands of others at GotaGoGama, their primary purpose was to voice their displeasure at the economic condition that had pushed their communities, their people and their livelihoods to the brink.
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