Sex and gender in the anti-Muslim riots
As the debris settles in Kandy and Ampara, Sinhala Buddhists are faced with yet another moment of reckoning: how do we change the ways in which we think about citizenship and belonging…
Gender
A Hellish Year: Misogyny in the Public Service Sector
The post itself was perfect at a glance – everything I could have imagined and more, and even stood up against my questioning nature. Regardless of the name of the position and…
Change is not Courage in a Boy’s Club
The office – a reknowned Sri Lankan company specialising in the manufacture of lingerie for worldwide brands. This was my second stint at this establishment. Previously, I worked here for almost 10…
MMDA: Groping in the dark?
Photo courtesy The long-awaited report by the ‘Justice Saleem Marsoof’ (JSM) committee that was set up to ‘consider and propose reforms to the Muslim personal law and Quazi Courts System’ delivered its…
Independent Woman
This collage examines women’s status in society, before and after colonisation. Pre-colonisation, women had a certain status (albeit never equal to a man) in society. Today, there is still a need to…
Against All Odds: Sri Lankan Women at the 70th Year of Independence
The email from Groundviews asking me to contribute to this series came on the same day that President Sirisena decided that a law prohibiting women from being involved in manufacturing, selling or…
70 Years of Independence | Vicky Shahjahan
What does it mean to be Sri Lankan? 70 years after independence, our identity is defined mostly along majoritarian lines, which can be traced back to the divisions created under British rule.…
70 Years of Independence | Sarah Ashaya Soysa
What does it mean to be Sri Lankan? 70 years after independence, our identity is defined mostly along majoritarian lines, which can be traced back to the divisions created under British rule.…
We are one, but not the same
I have never been more honoured to be a Sri Lankan woman than I am today. You might find that ironic. In the last 365 days alone, we’ve seen too much evidence…
Thatti
I worked with Building Bridges on a four-month series of art and creative skills workshops at St. John’s College, Mattakkuliya. It is a co-educational school whose students come from diverse backgrounds in…
A Double Bind: Reflecting On Women’s Lived Realities on Independence Day
As Sri Lanka marks 70 years since Independence, yet again gearing up for an overt display of pageantry that stands as an annual reminder of our own militarised past and present, we…
70 Years of Independence | Sriyal Nilanka
What does it mean to be Sri Lankan? 70 years after independence, our identity is defined mostly along majoritarian lines, which can be traced back to the divisions created under British rule.…
Building Resilience: Responding to Cyber Violence in Sri Lanka
Featured image by Deshan Tennekoon Text by Raisa Wickrematunge She strikes a pose for the camera; arms akimbo, looking determined, her gaze locked into the distance. Watching her, the group laughs and…
Technology-related Violence Against Women and Girls in Sri Lanka: Key Trends
There is little research done on technology-based violence against women in Sri Lanka. In addition, there are no trilingual, easily accessible, open-source resources for digital security, key because many leaks occur due…
‘Raped’ by society – A second attack
Throughout time, humanity has been challenged by the spread of prejudice. One such concept that has plagued humanity is prejudice, as well as discrimination and stereotyping, inflicted on the basis of the…
