This is the 49th issue of the Women and Media Collective’s Options magazine you can read the magazine online here or click here to download it in a PDF format. Options No 49. – Women and Religion by wmcsrilanka on Scribd

As President Maitripala Sirisena’s draft of the 20th Amendment is scheduled to be presented to the cabinet today a special media briefing on the representation of women in politics was organised by the Women and Media Collective yesterday, 3rd of June, in Colombo. Followed by continued campaigning by women’s groups in the country a provision … Continue reading Media Breifing: Women’s political representation

The Women and Media Collective together with other women’s organisations have been campaigning to increase the representation of women at local, provincial and national level for over 15 years. The current electoral reform process, which is a measure to strengthen representative democracy, should provide an opportunity to increase women’s representation in the Parliament of Sri … Continue reading Discussion on the 20th Amendment to the constitution with CAFFE, Sri Lanka

RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY WOMEN’S GROUPS TO THE 20TH AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION CURRENTLY UNDER DISCUSSION Women in Sri Lanka have had the right to vote from as early as 1931, but very little opportunity to become the people’s elected political representatives—in either Parliament or in Provincial or Local Government. This fact has been highlighted worldwide … Continue reading Political Representation of Women: Ensuring 25% Increase

This handbook was designed to support women with a keen interest to get online. Appropriate for beginners, this book introduces you to the very basics of the most commonly used web platforms that are available on the internet for free. It is our intention to encourage women to make their voices heard at a global … Continue reading Getting Online: A basic guide to Email, Blogging, Twitter and Facebook (New Media Handbook)

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

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 awards for the winning short films of the Women and Media Collectives short film competition were presented at the opening ceremony of WMC’s 30th anniversary exhibition on the 10th of February 2015. This year first place went to J.P. Kusum Jayaweera for ‘Weegawath Gahaniya’ (Speed Woman). Kusum is a nurse from the Anuradhapura teaching … Continue reading WMC Short Film Competition 2014