An interesting dimension to the current conflict playing out in Ukraine amidst increasing aggression and spirited defiance, amidst airstrikes, war crimes, sanctions and diplomacy are the varied approaches to the flow of…
Natalie Soysa lived an intensely creative life. She was a writer, a journalist, a photographer and activist and she understood early in her life what many people take decades to fully realise…
Article 12 (1) of the Constitution of Sri Lanka 1978 recognizes that people are entitled to equal protection of the law. Therefore, the state is under an obligation to ensure through law…
On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women I want to take a look at what progress has been made in raising our awareness as a community about the…
We mourn the loss of Kamla Bhasin, feminist activist, writer, poet, mentor and friend who left us on September 25. Kamla has been a core part of influencing and collaborating with feminist…
A global rise in the cases of domestic violence (DV) has been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic and sustained periods of lockdown owing to the pandemic. Several factors including tension created by…
In 2018 the former President of Sri Lanka, influenced by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’ policy, attempted to resume executions for people convicted of drug trafficking. The President’s move reignited…
Raise your right hand (or your left if you are left-handed), with the palm facing forward and the fingers spread out. Now form an O with your thumb and your middle finger…
The images are harrowing and all too familiar – an electrocuted baby elephant, a caged dog, a leopard caught in a trap, a butchered dolphin; accounts of animals suffering due to neglect,…
Sri Lanka’s post-colonial language policy was neither fair not desirable. A largely non-English speaking population was governed by a small class of English-speaking elite. Weary of being excluded from governance and public…
There is a social experiment that has been doing rounds close to Women’s Day this year. To help understand the human mind, participants are asked to solve a riddle and their responses…
To mark International Day for Persons with Disabilities, Groundviews interviewed Dharini de Mel, a friend and philanthropist for persons with disabilities. Dharini’s introduction to supporting the disabled came quite by chance. Although…
There have been a lot of politicians all over the world telling us that a nation’s security and economic prosperity are the most important factors in making a country great. Freedom from…
World Children’s Day falls on November 20. Sri Lanka commemorated Children’s Day on October 1 and September 2 marked 30 years since the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child…
Mental illness is not uncommon in Sri Lanka. Most often, mental illness and disorders go undetected due to social and cultural taboos, severely damaging a person’s level of happiness, productivity, and his…
