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Trafficking-in- Persons, data, information collection and reporting system in Sri Lanka
An effective data, information collection and reporting system for ‘Trafficking- In- Persons’ (TIP) is being formulated by the Women and Media Collective together with the Asia Foundation. The goal is to build an effective TIP data collection and reporting system in Sri Lanka. This system is expected to feed...
A fathers responsibility
When the Ministry of Foreign Employment in Sri Lanka introduced the Family Background Report (FBR) it withdrew the rights of many women, with children below the ages of five, to seek employment abroad. Caring for children is a shared responsibility by both the mother and father. And although many...
16 Days of Activism against GBV 2015 campaign
The 16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV) online campaign for the year 2015 was designed to bring attention to the forms of GBV prevalent in Sri Lanka. The campaign was carried out alongside the 16 days activities that were organised on the ground, a joint effort...
(Petition) The Rape and Murder of 8 year old girl in India: Women’s Groups and Activists Express Concern
25th April 2018 H.E. Taranjit Singh Sandhu High Commissioner High Commission of India Colombo 3. Your Excellency, The Rape and Murder of 8 year old girl: Women’s Groups and Activists Express Concern We are deeply disturbed by the recent events in Rasana, in the Kathua district of Kashmir and...
IWD 2015: International Women’s Day March
Women’s rights groups from all parts of Sri Lanka made it happen on the streets of Colombo to mark International Women’s Day 2015. On the 9th of March, women’s groups were demanding for an increase in political representation for women by introducing at least a 25% quota in all...
Social Media workshop for women candidates and activists
A social media training for potential and qualified women candidates and women from Civil Society Organisations was held on the 28th of September at the Distance Learning Centre in Colombo. The training programme introduced participants to social media platforms, enabling them to have the skills to engage with an...
Comments on the Amended Local Authorities Elections Act (Sinhala)
පළාත් පාලන ආයතන තුළ ස්ත්රීන්ගේ නියෝජනය 25%කින් වැඩිකරන බවට රජය විසින් පොරොන්දුවක් ලබාදෙන ලදී. ඒ අනුව පසුගිය කාලය පුරා මේ ඉල්ලීම තහවුරු කරගැනීම පිණිස අප කාන්තා ක්රියාකාරිනියන් විසින් අදාළ දේශපාලන නායකයින් සමඟ සාකච්ඡාවට ද ලක්කරන ලදී. පසුගිය අගෝස්තු 25 වන දින පළාත් පාලන ආයතන ඡන්ද විමසීම් සංශෝධන පනත සම්මතවීමත්...
A New Sri Lanka for Women: establishing an Independent Women’s Commission
Petition The establishment of an Independent Women’s Commission was first proposed by women activists and advocates as far back as 1991. Since then a number of proposals have been made by successive governments to statutorily establish such a Commission. In 2003, the United National Front government, headed by the...
International Women’s Day 2007
International Women’s Day 2007 was celebrated by over 1,000 women from 40 women’s organizations belonging to the network Sri Lanka Women for Peace and Democracy. The women who attended were from Moneragala, Polonnaruwa, Kandy, Hatton, Puttalam, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Mahiyanganaya, Wilpotha, Rajanganay, Welikanda, Singhapura, Hambantota, Galle, Buttala, Badulla, Matara, Ratnapura,...
International Women’s Day: Sri Lankan Women Demand Democracy, Economic Justice and Freedom
Click here to Read the full statement – International Women’s Day Sri Lankan Women Demand Democracy, Economic Justice and Freedom –
The Darkest Light Podcast: Are traditional midwifes history?
There was a time when birth was spiritual. When birth attendants possessed knowledge of traditional ayurvedic medicines and practices. When the care of pregnant, laboring and postpartum women was provided by people who felt like family. What happened to birth in Sri Lanka? And what happened to the women...
Private Parts: Obscenity and Censorship in the Digital Age
Source: GenderIT.org Blog: eroticslka.wordpress.com By Subha Wijesiriwardena “Sexuality could indeed be spoken of, spoken of a great deal, but only in order to forbid it.” Michel Foucault (as interviewed by Bernard-Henri Lévy in 1977) Earlier this year, the telecommunications minister of Bangladesh declared a ‘war on pornography’, blocking access to around...
Women’s Manifesto: Parliamentary Elections 2020
Click here to download Summary Click here to download long version
XXV South Asian Feminist Capacity Building Course on Gender, Sustainable Livelihoods, Human Rights and Peace in Kathmandu, Nepal
The South Asian Feminist Capacity Building Course on Gender, Sustainable Livelihoods, Human Rights and Peace, also known as the Sangat Month Long Course, is designed to offer clarity on and a greater understanding of concepts related to gender, justice, poverty, sustainable development, peace, democracy, and human rights. The course...
WMC Launch of the pilot study on Unpaid Care Work and Persons with Disabilities
The Women and Media Collective launched their pilot study on Unpaid Care Work and Persons with Disabilities on 19th October 2023 in Colombo. This pioneering pilot study brings into focus unpaid care work of the primary caregiver of vulnerable family members including elders and persons with disabilities. The aim...
CATAW 2005-2006
• Livelihood disbursement to tsunami affected women,
particularly vulnerable groups such as widows. Funding
was channeled through selected women’s organizations
with a record of working in these areas. • Training of Trainers program- ‘Promoting the Rights of
Women’- across six districts, Ampara, Batticaloa,
Galle, Hambantota, Matara and Trincomalee, which
focused on community workers who...
Statement by the Women and Media Collective on the attacks against the peaceful GotaGoGama protest
May 2022 The Women and Media Collective strongly condemns the attacks against the peaceful GotaGoGama protest and struggle site at the Galle Face Green on the 9th of May 2022. This site of protest and struggle was established and occupied peacefully from the 9th of April by citizens protesting...
The Economic Crisis and Options for Short-Term Recovery with Dr. Sonali Deraniyagala
Watch Dr. Sonali Deraniyagala’s talk on ‘The Economic Crisis and Options for Short-Term Recovery’. Dr. Deraniyagala is part of the faculty of economics at SOAS and a Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University. Organised by the Women and Media Collective and the Social Scientists’ Association
සුනිලා අබේසේකර දෙවර්ෂ පූර්ණ සැමරුම, ජාතික ගුවන් විදුලියේ වෙළඳ සේවය ඹස්සේ
සුනිලා අබේසේකර දෙවර්ෂ පූර්ණ සැමරුම ”ආදරයේ ඔබ ඔබමයි මා ඔබ නොව ඔබ මා නොව දවසක්දා……. හ`දුනා ගත්තොත් ඔබ මා…….” ඒ මියුරු යුග ගීයෙහි නින්නාද දෙන ගැඹුරු, භාවපූර්ණ, ස්ත්රී හෙ`ඩහි හිමිකාරිය වූ සුනිලා අබේසේකර සොයුරියගේ දෙවර්ෂ පූර්ණ සැමරුම වෙනුවෙන් ඇය විසින් ගායනා කළ මෙරට ගීත රසිකයින් ගේ ආදරයට පාත්ර වූ...
Sri Lankan Civil Society condemns Muslim MPS attempt to derail MMDA Reforms – Statement
In a historic move, over 145 civil society personalities including academics, professionals and human rights advocates and over 44 organizations, declare their support for Sri Lankan Muslim women and girls agitating for long years for reforms to the Muslim Marriage and Divorce (MMDA). Solidarity for Muslim women victims and...
Celebrating International Migrants Day, 18 December 2017
Cabinet decision to Ban on Mothers having children below 5 years of age leaving the country for foreign employment We vehemently oppose to the Cabinet decision to ‘ban’ mothers of children under the age of five from migrating abroad for work. This ban was imposed taking into account the...
Counselling for Intimate Partner Violence against Women
by Chulani Kodikara More and more women in Sri Lanka are breaking the silence surrounding intimate partner violence against women (IPVW) to a third person outside their immediate family and friends and seeking formal institutional support to address the problem. This has to be attributed to both consciousness-raising programmes...
National Budget (2018) proposal from women’s rights activists submitted to the Ministry of Finance
The following proposal was submitted by women’s rights activists and groups for the 2018 national budget. The proposal, submitted to the Ministry of Finance, identifies strategies for gender responsive budgeting. Click here to download the proposal
Press Release: WMC condemns the attack on HNDA students
2nd October 2015 Press Release Women and Media Collective condemns the police attack on students of the Higher National Diploma in Accountancy (HNDA) while they were protesting opposite the University Grants Commission in Colombo on the 29th of October 2015. We express our deep concern on the manner in...
Cyberbullying and scared women – Ceylon Today
By Isurinie Mallawaarachchi Source: Ceylon Today It was a few years ago, when a friend called me to ask not to accept a Facebook friend request from a certain person whom she revealed as her former lover. “I am compelled to deactivate all my social media accounts, because this...
Submission of Proposals for Constitutional Reform – December 2020
Submission of Proposals for Constitutional Reform To the expert committee to draft a new constitution December 2020 English Sinhala Tamil
Women Condemn the Attack on Civilians at Kebithigollewa
The Sri Lankan Women for Peace and Democracy (SLWPD), of which the WMC is a member organisation, issued a Media Statement to all media institutions condemning the claymore attack allegedly by the LTTE on a passenger bus at Kebethigollewa on the 15th of June 2006. Although it was sent to...
“ENDING THE DEBT BURDEN: RECLAIMING WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS” – Women and Media Collective at CSW
“ENDING THE DEBT BURDEN: RECLAIMING WOMEN’S AND GIRLS’ RIGHTS” a panel hosted by Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) and co- sponsored by African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET); Government of Sierra Leone; Red Latinoamericana por Justicia Económica y Social (Latindadd); Debt for Justice Norway;...
Empowering Women’s Rights Advocates through CEDAW and Macroeconomics: A Five-Day Workshop
In the realm of women’s rights and gender equality, there is an ongoing battle to challenge the status quo, particularly when it comes to the economic policies that have often led to the violation of women’s human rights. In this pursuit, the Women and Media Collective (WMC) and the...
Phase 2 – Project on Empowering Young Women by raising awareness on Feminism
The second training of a trainer’s workshop (TOT Workshop) of the Project on Empowering young women by raising awareness on feminism for using the training manual on Justice Equality, Feminism for Justice prepared to raise awareness about feminism was held on April 30th, 2023 at the Nature Gardens Hotel in Yakkala...
Empowering Women Leaders: A Cross-Cultural Study Visit to Kerala’s Panchayat System
The Women and Media Collective facilitated a field visit of 24 former women local councilors and women community leaders to the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) and Panchayats in Thrissur, Kerala from the 22nd to the 24th of January 2024. The women were from the districts of Kurunegala, Kandy, Nuwara...
EYA 2016 : Annual Issue
රාජ්ය ප්රතිසංස්කරණය තුළ ස්ත්රී අයිතිවාසිකම්, එවරස්ට් තරණය කළ පළමු ශ්රී ලාංකිකයා ජයන්ති කුරුඋතුම්පාලගේ එවරස්ට් තරණයේ අත්දැක්මී ඇතුළු ලිපි රැසක් මෙවර ඇය 2016 වාර්ෂික කලාපයෙන්… Click here to download EYA 2016 Annual Issue by wmcsrilanka on Scribd
HIRING – Communications Officer
VACANCY Women and Media Collective (WMC) is looking for a dynamic individual who has excellent communications skills and a commitment to work on the rights of women and on gender equality, to be part of our team. Main Responsibilities: Develop and implement communication strategies and advocacy...
16 Days of Activism against GBV 2014 campaign
The recently concluded 16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence global campaign in Sri Lanka was a unitary effort by members of the GBV Forum. During the 16 days the Gender Based Violence Forum or GBV Forum had organised several activities and events in the country for the...
Advancing Democracy: Proposals for Electoral Reform in Sri Lanka by the Women and Media Collective
On the 29th of January 2024, Ms Kumuduni Samuel, Director Programmes on behalf of the Women and Media Collective, submitted recommendations focus on the electoral system reform, with a special emphasis on increasing women’s representation, and broader electoral reforms for a more democratic political culture to the Presidential Secretariat....
OPEN CALL – TOT Sessions CEDAW and Macroeconomics: Advancing Gender Equality through Feminist, Human Rights-Based Economic Advocacy.
The Women & Media Collective (WMC) and International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW AP) will be co-hosting a training of trainers (ToT), entitled CEDAW and Macroeconomics: Advancing Gender Equality through Feminist, Human Rights-Based Economic Advocacy. The ToT is a three-day in-person gathering in Negombo, scheduled for 5-7 July 2023. The training...
Women Speak: International Women’s Day 2022
Tharindi, Youth Voices Count Somalatha, Uva Wellassa Women’s Organisation Jasmin, Artist Yamini, Religious Freedom Advocate Sakuni, Trans Equality Trust Muqaddasa Wahid, Freelance Journalist Nafeera, Local Government Councilor Roel, Editor in Chief, Roar Media Ambika, Former Human Rights Commissioner Chandrathilaka, Deputy Director, Women’s Development Center Bisliya, LG Representative Ambika, Former...
Social Media training for women activists
A social media training was held in Colombo for women activists from the areas of Galle, Badulla, Kurunegala and Colombo. The training focused on online advocacy and activism. It was facilitated by Subha Wijesiriwardena of WMC.
𝗪𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗡’𝗧 𝗢𝗪𝗘! 𝗪𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗡’𝗧 𝗣𝗔𝗬! – 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗿𝗶 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀
PRESS RELEASE 11 August 2023 Colombo, Sri Lanka 𝗪𝗘 𝗗𝗢𝗡’𝗧 𝗢𝗪𝗘! 𝗪𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗡’𝗧 𝗣𝗔𝗬! 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗿𝗶 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀 Women’s rights groups in Sri Lanka reject the current debt restructuring solutions that place the burden of repayment on Sri...
Updated institutional policy on abortion by Amensty International
In recognition of International Safe Abortion Day (Sept 28), Amnesty International has released its updated institutional policy on abortion. Amnesty International’s updated policy recognizes access to safe abortion as an essential component of a fair and equal society, and as integral to realizing the full range of human rights....
Statement by women’s rights organizations on the violence on Easter Sunday 2019
Image: Ada Derana Download Statement We condemn the bloody attacks in Negombo, Colombo and Batticaloa, in churches and hotels, on 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday. We send our deepest condolences to those grieving the loss of their loved ones, friends and colleagues. We commit to upholding the values of...
Statement on the One Country, One Law Task Force appointed by the President of Sri Lanka on 26.10.2021
Download English statement, Sinhala statement Tamil statement The facts The President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa has appointed a Presidential Task Force for One Country, One Law comprising of 13 members. Invoking the Fundamental Rights chapter of the Constitution and International Law, his gazette says the purpose is to...
Celebrating and Remembering the life of Sunila on the 10th year of Commeration
On the 9th of September 2023, activists, academics, dramatists, artists and friends gathered to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the passing of Sunila Abeysekera, women’s rights and human rights activist, an actress, singer and a beautiful human and to celebrate Sunila Abeysekera’s unwavering commitment to justice, equality, and human...
International Women’s Day 2013
International Women’s Day 2013 was celebrated in Colombo on the 8th of March under the theme of “A promise is a promise: time for action to end violence against women”. A parade from Nugegoda Weli Park to the Ananda Samarakoon Open Air Theater in Nugegoda consisted of activists, street...
We are Hiring – Program Manager and Program Officer
We are looking for a Program Manager and a Program Officer for Gender and Political Economy domain Women and Media Collective (WMC) is looking for a Program Manager and a Program Officer who are passionate about the rights of women and gender equality, to work on the program area ...
Dr Kottegoda on Unpaid Care Work, in conversation with Savithri Rodrigo on Kaleidoscope
Dr Sepali Kottegoda, Director of Programs, Women’s Economic Rights and Media and Editor of Working Hours , will be discussing some hard facts about the unrecognised, unpaid and under-valued contribution made by women to the economy are revealed on Kaleidoscope Let’s Talk this Thursday. with Savithri Rodrigo on the...
Women DOP master class
Postponed to January 2022 Breaking the glass ceiling in cinema! Women DOP Master Class December 3rd and 4th, 2021 at the Sri Lanka Foundation
WMC Short Film Competition 2015 & 2016 – Award ceremony
The screening and award ceremony of the Women and Media Collective short film competition was held on the 31st of October 2016 at the Namel Malani Punchi theatre. Awards for competitions 2015 and 2016 were presented on this day to short film and short film script winners.
Let us ensure the job security of the migrant workers who are affected by the economic recession.
Let us celebrate the International Migrants’ Day that falls on the 18th December 2022. Source: Daily News Today we celebrate the 23rd International Migrants’ Day of the migrant workers, which was declared by the United Nations Organisation in the year 2000. The International Migrants’ Day is celebrated every year...
Documentation and Record Keeping: A book full of hope
Dear friends & fellow activists, This resource pack is a collection of forms, templates and tools that will help you improve and legitimize the documentation processes and record keeping practices within your network and/or organization. The objective of this resource pack is to promote transparency and encourage accountability in...
Sunila Abeysekera Commemoration Lecture by Dr. Sonali Deraniyagala
Sunila Abeysekera Commemoration Lecture “The Human Cost of Sri Lanka’s Economic Collapse” by Dr. Sonali Deraniyagala, Economist at SOAS, University of London & visiting Professor at Columbia University.
Project on Empowering Young Women by raising awareness on Feminism
The first training of a trainer’s workshop (TOT Workshop) of the Project on Empowering young women by raising awareness on feminism for 20 women selected from around 400 young women studying in universities using the training manual on Justice Equality, Feminism for Justice prepared to raise awareness about feminism was...
HIRING – FULL TIME INTERNSHIP
VACANCY INTERN Women and Media Collective is a feminist organization engaged with ideological and practical issues of concern to women in Sri Lanka. We are looking for a dynamic and outgoing intern to co-ordinate a creative project on food practices which will entail helping to co-ordinate the setting up...
Unpaid caretakers : The forgotten woman?
Source: Nation.lk By Pujanee Galappaththi “I work every day from 5 a.m. until about 10 p.m. I wake up in the morning, cook for everyone, send them off to work and school, clean, wash clothes, cook dinner, and take care of my parents. This is all just a simple...
Messages for the Parliamentary Elections 2020
Safeguard democracy, use your vote and use it wisely ප්රජාතන්ත්රවාදය ආරක්ෂා කරන්න, ඔබේ ඡුන්දය ඥාණාන්විතව භාවිතා කරන්න. ஜனநாயகத்தைப் பாதுகாக்கவும், உங்கள் வாக்குகளைப் பயன்படுத்துவதுடன், அதனைப் புத்திசாலித்தனமாகப் பயன்படுத்தவும்.
අනාගතවාදී නව ආණ්ඩුක්රම ව්යවස්ථාවක් සඳහා ස්ත්රීන්ගේ පෙළගැස්ම
අනාගතවාදී නව ආණ්ඩුක්රම ව්යවස්ථාවක් සඳහා ස්ත්රීන්ගේ පෙළගැස්ම Click here to download the publication Constitution Reforming (Sin… by wmcsrilanka on Scribd
WMC short film festival & children’s art exhibition award ceremony (photos)
The WMC short film festival and children’s art exhibition award ceremony was held on 29th March 2021 at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. The theme of the short films and art work submitted was on Unpaid Care Work.
The Women and Media Collective Short Film Festival and Award Ceremony 2023
The Annual Short Film Festival and Award Ceremony of the Women and Media Collective was held on the 4th of April 2023, at the Thranganie Hall of the National Film Cooperation from 2.30 pm to 5.00 pm. The Festival celebrated the finalist film makers of the Short Film Competition...
ACTFORM Training of Trainers Manual
A rights based training manual was developed by the Action Network for Migrant Workers (ACTFORM) in consultation with the training department of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE). Currently the SLBFE has 19 training centres and trainers from each department were brought in for the training of...