At the end of two weeks of thought-provoking and intense discussions, the Commission on Population and Development (CPD) concluded on April 17, 2015 without a resolution. On the final day, the chair produced a well-balanced text reflective of the various positions staked by governments, but to everyone’s surprise, this text was suddenly withdrawn by the … Continue reading Final statement on the 48th Session of the UN Commission on Population and Development

Celebrate the feminist and women movements 1975-2015 Source: International presentation Association UNCSW59 is the abbreviation for the 59th annual United Nations Conference on the Status of Women (UNCSW) being held in New York City from March 9 to 20. UNCSW is the principal global intergovernmental organization working on gender equality and empowerment for women. The … Continue reading NGO CSW Forum 2015 – March 8, 2015

This manual was developed with feedback of 40 trade union female members of 20 trade unions who belong to the Trade Union Women United network coordinated by Women and Media Collective. The manual is available in the Sinhala and Tamil languages. Through this manual users can obtain similar levels of knowledge, attitudes and skills and … Continue reading Training of Trainers manual on leadership for women in Trade Unions of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s Trade Union women leaders are a driving force in the lives of working women due to the constant trials and struggles encountered in the workplace. Marred by gender discrimination and sometimes violence women in the past have had to step forward and speak up for their rights. This led to the emergence of … Continue reading Film: Determining Futures, women in Trade Unions in Sri Lanka

Application deadline has been extended to April 27th 2015. Please see below for more details.   Application form Brochure

A consultation with Kare Vollan, an expert on electoral reforms, was held yesterday to discuss the prospects of increasing political representation of women in parliament in the current context of constitutional and electoral reforms. For the first time the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe has proposed reforms that will ensure a substantive increase … Continue reading Increasing women’s political representation: a discussion on current reforms

The Action Network for Migrant Workers (ACTFORM) met with the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Employment, Thalatha Athukorala to discuss the current status of women migrant workers and the measures that need to be taken to further improve their status at home and abroad. This was the first meeting between Sri Lanka’s ACTFORM network and … Continue reading ACTFORM meets Minister of Foreign Employment, Thalatha Athukorala

This film documents the electoral struggle of Aynoon Beebi, a 39-year old Muslim woman from Kinniya, in Trincomalee, at the 2011 local government elections. While celebrating Aynoon’s political ambitions, the film explores the ways in which she challenges mechanisms of power and dominance that are naturalised within her community and political party structures. Women account … Continue reading Film: Don’t think of me as a woman, an election story from the margins

A group of human rights law students from the University of Colombo and the Gallatin School, New York visited Women and Media Collective to learn more about WMC’s role in addressing women’s rights issues in Sri Lanka and its applicability in achieving gender equality. Women in politics, women in trade unions, migrant workers rights and … Continue reading University students from New York and Colombo visit WMC

The 2014 women’s photography exhibition by Women and Media Collective was held alongside WMC’s 30th anniversary exhibition Women’s Struggles, Women’s Pride. From the 11 – 13th of February 2015 the photography exhibition was open for viewing at the Public Library Hall in Colombo. It featured the work of nearly 30 female photographers, amateur and professional, … Continue reading WMC Women’s Photography Exhibition 2014