The Statue of Tara: It’s Time to Come Home
She stands tall at the heart of the British Museum’s South Asian exhibit. In all her gilded bronze glory, her eyes search passing spectators, although the jewels which once adorned them have…
Gender
Mullahs and Muslim MPs Masculinize MMDA
“… since the Prophet was a human being who, unlike God, is subject to mundane historical processes, his legacy cannot exist outside the context of human mediation and human authorial process. The…
Formulating Equal and Fair Laws on Divorce Biggest Barrier to MMDA Reform
Unequal types and processes for divorce constitute one of the most problematic aspects of the current Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA) 1951 of Sri Lanka. In June 2021, a government appointed…
Child Marriage: Breaking the Chains of Tradition
Child marriage, defined as any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 and an adult or another child, continues to be a significant issue across South…
Debt Crisis, Corporate Culpability and the Apparel Sector: Labour Reforms in Perspective
industriall-union My exchange with friend and colleague Ben Selwyn came out of sharing union statements on illicit transfer of capital out of Sri Lanka’s corporate world. These numerous statements have a bearing…
Political Will Needed to Abolish Period Tax
On Menstrual Hygiene Day, we are reminded of the ongoing efforts to normalize menstruation worldwide by the year 2030. In Sri Lanka we are still engaged in the struggle to eliminate the…
The Fearless Collective: Fighting Oppression with Beauty
In 2012, visual artist Shilo Shiv Suleman started the Fearless Collective in response to the protests that shook India after the Delhi gang rape and murder. The Fearless Collective says that it…
Changing Workplace Culture By Embracing Equity
Two weeks ago, a complaint was made by Ms. Ishara Devendra, a journalist, about her workplace culture at ITN. Ms Devendra’s allegations, posted on her personal Facebook page, were that she had…
Kamala Vasuki: Bringing Truth Through Art
Kamala Vasuki is an artist and feminist activist who has continuously reacted and responded to oppressive, marginalizing and silencing mechanisms through her social action and her expressions through art. The work she…
The Hardships of the Forgotten Plantation Sector
The plantation sector is vividly different from other sectors and is yet to be shown empathy and true care. Female workers leave home for work by 7 am and come home by…
Blood Sport of a Man
at her school, it’s not only the muscular jock that makes rape sound like a shaggy-dog story it’s also the averagely built skinny man who camouflages in feminism flexing his wit,…
Teardrop on Fire: Exposing Gender Based Violence
For her documentary film Teardrop On Fire, Jessica Palden interviewed many people who have directly experienced domestic abuse and intimate partner violence in Sri Lanka. The footage for the film was generated…
Sister, Sister
We lock pinkies and swear oaths stronger and more fearsome than a man could dream for blood is our birthright so our ties are awash in it drenched in a secret…
Boys Will Be Boys
Boys will be boys, And that girl who was groped in the back of the bus, Will go back home, See phantom handprints on her clothes, And wince every time someone comes…
The Sri Lankan Kella
I am the woman of my country The product of ‘culture’, of history of a nation The result of procreation The manufactured playground of patriarchy The battlefield of nationalism I am…
