Asma: One Strong Story – Well Said
Many knew Asma Jahangir for her brilliance, and for the celebration of diversity that she always was. She was a beacon of hope as a dogged defender of human rights and a…
Gender
Digital Battlefield: Launch of Digital Security Wiki
In the year 2018, the divide between online and offline worlds has become increasingly blurred. Behaviour seen in digital spaces and the language used in the dissemination of content mirrors offline practice…
Women’s Participation at the Grassroots Level
Drawing on the idea that the personal is political and challenging the notion that political empowerment can be measured solely with a seat in a legislature, this article focuses on the forms…
Women’s Representation and Participation in Formal Politics
Despite the drive for gender equality promoted at the Beijing UN World Conference on Women in 1995, the Sri Lankan State appears to have taken little responsibility for narrowing the gender gap…
Invisible Barriers: The Struggle to Combat Violence, Online and Off
Rights activists have been abducted, detained and assaulted in the pursuit of their work in Sri Lanka, both during and after the war. Even under the present government, the crackdown on the…
Conflict-Affected Women in Sri Lanka – Still Waiting For Answers
There has been a marked increase in female-headed households in the North and East of the country as a consequence of the war in Sri Lanka concluded in 2009. Women in Sri…
An Uneven Playing Field: Bisliya Bhutto
Initially, Bisliya, a women’s rights activist based in Puttalam and researching on female participation in politics, didn’t want to enter the arena herself. Her interests lay more in working to get more…
An Uneven Playing Field: Jeevanee Kariyawasam
‘When you’re having a conversation, your message might reach four or five people. With technology acting as a mouthpiece, you can reach thousands at a time. And when you don’t see the…
An Uneven Playing Field: Rosy Senanayake
‘In the 21st century, the digital sphere nearly outweighs that of physical human interaction’ says Rosy Senanayake, who was officially appointed the first female mayor of Colombo recently. She notes that the…
An Uneven Playing Field: Jegatheeswaram Jeyachandrika
Contesting under the UNP for the Arayampathy ward in Batticaloa, Jegatheeswaram Jeyachandrika, or Meena as she is known, counts the threats she has received on her fingers. There was the time people…
LEAKED: Report of the Committee Appointed to Consider Alternatives to MMDA
was sent a copy of the Justice Saleem Marsoof (JSM) Committee report on the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA), leaked from a reliable source. Download it here. The Marsoof Committee was…
An Uneven Playing Field
The implementation of a 25% quota for women’s representation in local councils at Sri Lanka’s 2018 Local Government Election was a welcome move, and the result of years of advocacy and activism…
Women’s Groups and Activists Express Concern in Kathua Rape Case
25th April 2018 H.E. Taranjit Singh Sandhu High Commissioner High Commission of India Colombo 3. Your Excellency, The Rape and Murder of an eight-year-old in Kathua: Women’s Groups and Activists Express Concern…
Sri Lanka’s Pandemic of Sexual Violence
The recent sexual assault of tourists in Mirissa has made headlines but the only unusual aspect of the incident was that it received substantial media attention: Sri Lanka has a national pandemic…
On Sexual Harassment and the Portrayal of Women in Corporate Advertising
It certainly was a good Women’s Day this year, when I read on about two very brave women who related their experiences of sexual harassment, one in the public service sector here…
