Youth Discussion: "Legal Limitations and Access to Justice - From a Feminist Perspective"

A focused discussion session with Professor Deepika Udugama took place on 6th July 2025, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., at the Women and Media Collective premises.

Feminist Youth members participated in this discussion, with the main resource contribution provided by Professor Deepika Udugama, with the coordination contribution of Ms. Viola Perera.

This discussion, which centered on the legal field, was titled “Legal Limitations and Access to Justice – From a Feminist Perspective.”

The session commenced with a welcome address by Mrs. Viola Perera, followed by an introduction of the resource person delivered by Ms. Ishani. Thereafter, the discussion began with the participation of all those present, led by the chairperson, Professor Deepika Udugama.

The discussion was focused on the issues that have arisen in the field, covering the social, economic, political, cultural, and religious aspects. In it, examples of cases where women are treated unfairly for living as women were discussed in depth. Not only how legal issues are becoming important, but also how legal issues themselves are treated unfairly was discussed.
The discussion then highlighted the problems of the earlier model in which women were expected to adopt traditionally male behaviors in order to claim their rights. Further, it emphasizes women’s freedom through the imitation of men, whether through style, behavior, or conduct, has only limited usefulness.

This point out that we need to critically examine the problems related to the continued use of old or outdated models, particularly those framed within feminist terminology, as there is a risk that the feminism project itself may become confined or displaced within those very models.

The discussion then turned to examples of the efforts made to protect women’s rights in the Soulbury Constitution, the Republic Constitution, and the 1978 Constitution, considering the articles presented for that purpose, and the practical utility of those articles. Although the 1978 Constitution paid more attention to fundamental rights, the discussion raised concerns about the extent to which these rights have been practically realized, especially in relation to the complexities of the existing social structure.

The discussion also brought out the issue of women being denied political rights. The lack of women’s representation in student politics at universities and the lack of political power in local organizations were brought to the attention of the participants.
The professor logically explained how scientism in the educational field is advancing beyond art and the risk of women’s rights being hidden in such places.

The question of the relationship between male and female students at the university was also raised at this point. It was collectively observed that this represents a deeply hegemonic relationship, and that the idea that there should be a separate party to govern or control women widely had spread across the university, and that this idea had been internalized across the entire university system. Most of the participants added their experiences to this point.

Following that, a side discussion was carried out regarding the importance of sex education and protecting women’s rights. It brought forward views on how the patriarchal system has operated in the past, to resist the advancement of discourse related to sex education.

It emphasized that parenthood and the protection of women’s rights form a crucial area of concern. In particular, institutions such as the family and school, which serve as primary socializing agents for children, were identified as central to this process. Furthermore, it was concluded that these institutions themselves must stop underestimating women’s rights, as failure to do so would make it difficult to socialize such ideology within the broader process of socialization.

Women’s empowerment was considered another crucial factor here, and the Hambantota Women’s Development Federation marks a very special milestone in this regard. Professor Udugama explained this context by specifically citing the way the Hambantota Women’s Development Federation functioned, the plans they carried out, their goals and objectives, and the way they faced society.

Specifically, this discussion highlighted that the purpose of education is to shape the personality, but today, the purpose of education is framed in a way that is tied to an economic concept, and consequently, the subsequent harm caused to women through the breakdown of personality development.  It was discussed that formative education, teachers lacking practical knowledge, and non-standardized curriculum development intentionally and unintentionally destroy social development and progressive values. These issues pose significant challenges to feminist efforts in the field. Furthermore, it was emphasized that an education system centered on certification and curriculum goals consequently damages the future generations by making it difficult to instill positive values such as women’s rights.

2025.07.06 දින පෙ.ව. 09.30 සිට ප.ව. 02.30 දක්වා   නීතියේ සීමාවන් සහ යුක්තියට ප්‍රවේශ වීම – ස්ත්‍රීවාදී දෘෂ්ටිකෝණයකින් ” යන මැයෙන් කාන්තාව හා මාධ්‍ය සාමූහික පරිශ්‍රයේ මෙම සාකච්ඡාව පවත්වන ලදි.

මේ සාකච්ඡාව සඳහා  ස්ත්‍රීවාදී  තරුණ කණඩායමේ සාමාජික, සාමාජිකාවන්  සම්බන්ධ වූ අතර, වයලා පෙරේරා මහත්මියගේ සම්බන්ධීකරන දායකත්වයෙන් යුතුව ප්‍රධාන සම්පත් දායකත්වය  මහාචාර්ය දීපිකා උඩුගම මහත්මිය විසින් සපයනු ලැබී ය.