Sri Lanka
Podcasts and Videos
Understanding Hate and Hate Speech: What does it mean for women and other oppressed groups?
Living under constant fear of being targeted with religious hate and hate speech is a shared experience of Sri Lanka’s Muslim community. In this podcast, journalist and researcher Sara Pathirana talks to Sheikh Arkam Nooramith – a Sri Lankan Islamic scholar, and Ms. Hafsah Muheed – an experienced professional working on gender-based violence and women’s health, about how the community deals...
In depth
“I have read and agree to the Terms and Conditions”: Informed Consent in the Age of Social Media
Research on social media, particularly relying on public and semi-public data shared by people, raises uncomfortable questions about privacy of people and their consent to being part of a research project. What questions of consent does a feminist lens on this subject raise?
In depth
Private Parts: Obscenity and Censorship in the Digital Age
Between right-wing governments and corporate capture of online spaces, there are interesting shifts in how sexuality is censored and governed online and offline. This article looks at the reach and over-reach of laws related to obscenity and censorship in South Asia and the impact that has had on free speech around sex, sex work and sexuality.
In depth
How Tiktok is a platform for performance and play for women in Sri Lanka
Tiktok is a wildly popular short video platform and has led to a myriad form of creative and playful expressions. This article explores the videos from Ceylon in relation to heteronormativity, gender, and how the boundaries between the personal and public are blurred.
Feminist talk
The Politics of Self Care and Feminism
What is self-care in a time of hyper-connected people and devices and of image-saturated capitalism and what does it mean to speak about self-care in relation to feminist politics and the women's movement. Sharanya examines the politics of self-care arising from many discussions with activists, writers and campaigners.
Publication
Mapping research on gender and digital technology
The emerging sub-field of research around gender and digital technology is united in its understanding that gender biases and stereotypes are embedded in technology, and that this reproduces the existing problems around gender parity, gender-based violence, discrimination and exclusion on the internet. This report is a mapping of the research around gender and digital technology in the decade...
Feminist talk
Shattering Women’s Futures: Evidence Of Patriarchal Control Of The Cybersphere In Sri Lanka
Patriarchal control on digital access in Sri Lanka continues to keep women away from opportunities and connections, creating a sense of alienation amongst them. Zinara Rathnayake discusses how family restrictions on the ownership and usage of the internet and smartphones impact Sri Lankan women.
Feminist talk
Finding the Pleasure Point in Internet Policy Spaces
For some of us pleasure in our work is possible, even if it is to find the breaking and bending points in the institutions of policy and law. But even though political and particularly feminist frameworks make space for pleasure, where is the space for that in legal or policy language at the international or national level?
In depth
In plain sight, on sexuality, rights and the internet in India, Nepal and Sri Lanka
The EROTICS report 2017 looks at sexuality, sexual rights and communication rights in South Asia in particular, and in this introduction to the report, hvale explores the conceptual overlaps and connecting threads in these varied contexts. South Asia's troubled colonial legacy of tackling sexuality related issues is evident in the many violations of rights of LGBTQI people, and the...
In depth
Interview with Women's Media Collective, Sri Lanka: About lesbian tutorials and other strategies
As part of the EROTICS research, the Women's Media Collective, Sri Lanka did research on 1) human rights of Sri Lanka lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer and 2) is on use of online space by lesbian women. In this interview by Shubha Kayastha, WMC talks about their process and recommendations.
