A looming constitutional crisis, courtesy Covid-19
Sri Lanka is fighting hard, to the best of all its citizens’ abilities, to deal with the current global pandemic caused by the coronavirus. To its credit, Sri Lanka seems to…
Healthcare
Emerging Governance Issues amid COVID-19
Image courtesy EY As Sri Lanka heads towards completing nearly a month of lockdown, with first the special public holiday route adopted from 16th March and then curfew from 20th March onwards,…
The President in the Pandemic
Photo courtesy NewsInAsia “…by tomorrow, everything will already look different; by tomorrow, everything will already feel different.” – Viktor Klemperer () It was October 1348. Bubonic plague, known to posterity as the…
Releasing Prisoners to prevent spread of COVID-19 in prisons
26th March 2020 To: H.E. Gotabaya Rajapaksa, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Hon. Jayantha Jayasuriya, Chairman of the Judicial Services Commission, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of…
Nominations close and elections postponed amid Covid-19
Photo: AFP, Ishara S. Kodiikara via Nominations for the parliamentary elections of 2020 closed late last week and barely an hour after the close of nominations, the Elections Commission made its widely…
A bell tolls for the world
Image courtesy WHO Frank M Snowdon (Epidemics and Society – from the Black Death to the Present) This week, Chinese authorities heaped praise on ophthalmologist Li Wenliang, absolving him of the charge…
A brief guide to the coronavirus pandemic, its implications and what you can do to help
Image courtesy The Economist As unprecedented events unfold due to the pandemic caused by the novel strain of coronavirus (COVID-19), misinformation can be deadly. This is a brief guide to the pandemic,…
Abortion – Where is Sri Lanka On The Spectrum?
“If you are not in favour of legal abortion, then you are in favour of illegal abortion” Prof. Arulkumaran On October 28, 2012, Savita Halappanavar, a young Indian dentist, died in Ireland…
Mental Health and Stigma in Sri Lanka
“I was taken to hospital without my consent. They restrained me when I refused to be medicated, and gave me an injection to sedate me. I had a full-time job, supporting my…
The Dark Side of Norochcholai
The term “sustainable development” has been increasingly used among the global community since the 1992 Rio Summit. To achieve this, environmental conservation, supported at a policy level, is crucial. Yet energy production…
Abortion: A Reply
In an article a few weeks ago, I argued that an embryo is a person with dignity and rights, and that this must change how we see both abortion pregnancy. There were…
The Reality of Suicide in Sri Lanka: Need for Data-driven analysis
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that close to 800,000 people die by suicide each year, with the majority of deaths occurring in low-income and middle-income countries. Many more attempt suicide. Suicide…
A womb of one’s own: Life, abortion and motherhood in Sri Lanka
Photograph: Paul Mezzer/FRF/Getty via The Irish Times From well-intentioned comments about our weight and skin colour, to the insidious experience of being followed as we walk on the street, women are wearily…
The Abortion Debate: The Absence of Questions
The government of Sri Lanka recently announced plans to widen the scope of the law on abortion. This initiative was subsequently put on hold because of strong opposition from religious leaders and…
The Abortion Debate: Mismatched and Misplaced?
Image courtesy Asia Society I once came into contact with a woman on account of a professional relationship we had. We had met to discuss her prolonged absence from work. With a…
