2009
Consultation meeting on the CEDAW Shadow Report
August 2009
Recently, the Women and Media Collective facilitated a consultation meeting on the CEDAW Shadow Report at CENWOR, on the 03rd of August 2009. The meeting was attended by over 50 participants from WMC’s network organizations based in Colombo and the Suburbs. At the meeting, the chapters compiled under the 2002-2009 Shadow Report were presented and discussed. An extensive response was received by the participants, where recommendations given by them were noted down to be incorporated into the final report. WMC has been facilitating the writing of the 2002-2009 CEDAW Shadow Report to be submitted to the CEDAW Committee in 2009-2010. The report is currently being revised and prepared for its final submission.
“Women Together” Meeting
On the 08th July 2009, activists from a number of well known women’s organizations in Colombo participated in “Women Together”, a meeting at WMC. The meeting was facilitated by the Muslim Women’s Research and Action Forum (MWRAF) and WMC. A total of 24 women participated in the meeting.
Progress of CEDAW Shadow Report and Status of Women Report 2008 – 2009
A writers’ meeting was held on the 17th of October 2008 at WMC where all the CEDAW shadow report and SWR writers gathered to discuss the writing of the two reports. A focus group discussion was held on the 27th of February 2009 at WMC, with the participation of 09 rural women community leaders from various parts of the country.
Following an invitation by the Secretary of Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Empowerment, a consultation meeting between women organizations/NGOs and the Secretary was held at the Ministry on the 01st of April 2009. The Secretary consulted the women NGO members in gaining their insights and views with regard to the areas of focus, and the kind of issues to be discussed and highlighted in the government report.
By the end of June, all chapters with regard to the CEDAW Shadow Report were submitted by the writers for final compilation of data. At present, the overall compilation of the report with the writing of the executive summary and introduction is being done.
DAWN – Regional Training Institute
The 2nd Regional Training Institute for young feminists from South and South East Asia was organized by Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), from the 16th – 22nd April 2009 in Manila, Philippines. Kumudini Samuel and Nilusha Hemasiri from WMC participated. Kumudini Samuel who was the DAWN South Asia coordinator participated as a resource person at the training.
The training provided young female participants from the Asian continent to share experiences and ideas of local, regional and global advocacy. The program was eventful with many of the participants taking back with them new methods of activism and the kinds of programs/campaigns they can use in their own countries, and in their areas of work.
Inter-generational Meeting
An intergenerational meeting of older and younger activists/feminists was held at WMC on the 23rd of March 2009. The objective of the intergenerational discussion between younger and older women was to share experiences and discuss possible strategies for dealing with common concerns of conflict, violence and impunity. The discussion was informal, interactive with many of the participants – both older and younger – sharing their own experiences of the conflict and discussing possible means of addressing this situation in a more proactive manner.
GEAR Meeting
A briefing of the Gender Architecture Reform (GEAR) of the UN system was held at the WMC on the 26th of February 2009. The objective of the discussion was to share information on the GEAR campaign and to contribute a Sri Lankan perspective to the Commission on the Status of Women session held in New York.
National Convention
WMC organized a National Convention with its partner women’s organizations from the 6th – 8th February 2009 at Hotel Thilanka in Kandy. A total of 41 participants from a diverse range of women’s organizations from all over the country participated. The meeting was in the form of a discussion and sharing of ideas and experiences, where all participants discussed a number of issues of concern.
2008
• Submission of the Migrant Rights NGO Shadow Report titled “The Sri Lanka NGO Shadow Report on the International Convention on the Protection of the rights of all Migrant Workers and their families,” to the Committee on Migrant Workers. The report was prepared by the Action Network for Migrant Workers and The Women and Media Collective.
June 2008
The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families was ratified by Sri Lanka in 1996. This Convention entered into force in 2003. In April 2008 the Sri Lankan Government, as part of its obligation under this Convention submitted the First Periodic Country Report to the Committee on Migrant Workers.
In 2006, the Action Network for Migrant Workers (ACTFORM) and the Women and Media Collective took the initiative to coordinate and prepare the Sri Lanka NGO Shadow Report to be submitted to the Committee on Migrant Workers. Two consultative meetings were held with Government Officials as well as with relevant Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs) working on migrant workers’ rights issues to determine what kind of data should be included and brought to the attention of the Committee on Migrant Workers.
In June 2008, the final draft of the NGO Shadow Report was submitted to the Committee on Migrant Workers.
View full report
• Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) NGO Alternative Report
The WMC is currently in the process of drafting the NGO Alternative Report to the CEDAW Committee in consultation with the Center for Women’s Research, Suriya Women’s Development Centre, Batticaloa, INFORM Human Rights Documentation Centre and other members belonging to the WMC network.
2007
• NGO Roundtable Meeting to discuss the report on “Abuses against Sri Lankan Domestic Workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates.”
November 2007
The report was presented by Human Rights Watch. This report, based on more than 170 interviews in Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, documents the violations migrant domestic workers face at every step of the migration process. It also documents how the governments of Sri Lanka and the Middle East fail to protect the more than 125,000 Sri Lankan women who migrate each year to work in the region. The meeting discussed the report findings, advocacy strategies, and collaborative future work in the field.
The meeting was hosted by Human Rights Watch, Women and Media Collective and ACTFORM.
View full report English | Sinhala
• Billboards on the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act
Jan 2007 – August 2007
The WMC with support from OXFAM Sri Lanka and the We Can Campaign displayed billboards in eight locations island-wide (except in the North), for a period of three months, beginning in May 2007. Sinhala language billboards were displayed in Kandy, Hambantota, Anuradhapura, and Welisara, and Tamil language billboards in Trincomalee, Puttalam, Batticaloa and Hatton.
Click here to see Sinhala billboards and Tamil billboards
• Preparation of Migrant Rights Alternative Report
May 2006 – 2008
Two consultative meetings were held, in May and November 2006, with government officials and relevant NGOs working on migrant rights issues, to determine the type of data that should be included and brought to the attention of the Migrant Rights Committee.
The Sri Lankan Government, as part of its obligation under the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, ratified in 1996 and entered into force in 2003 has now been requested to submit its First Periodic Report to the Committee on Migrant Workers. Non Government Organisations (NGOs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs) working on issues of Migrant Workers are also required to submit an Alternative Report to the above mentioned Committee, providing information on the current situation of Sri Lankan Migrant Workers and their rights. With this aim, the Action Network for Migrant Workers (ACTFORM) is coordinating the preparation of the Report, which will be presented to the Migrant Rights Committee in 2008. The report is being written by human rights activist and lawyer Shyamala Gomez.
• Annual Women's National Convention 2006
9 – 11 January 2007
Wadduwa, Sri Lanka
The Annual National Convention for Women Activists 2006 was held in January 2007. Thirty one women activists from a number of districts including Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Moneragala, Puttalam, Kegalle, Gampaha, Kurunegala, and Colombo participated. The WMC held its first Annual National Convention for Women Activists in 1984.
Issues relating to the broad themes of Democracy and Conflict were discussed. It was also decided that all those present would work as a network towards March 8th International Women's Day 2007, on the theme: 'Let's Protect Our Right to Live', taking into account the escalating violence in Sri Lanka, especially in the North and East.
View Summary Report
2006
• Media Strategies on Raising Awareness and Implementation of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act
21 June 2006
Women and Media Collective, Colombo
The WMC held a consultative meeting on 21st June 2006 to identify 'Media Strategies on Awareness Raising and Implementation of the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act. Women from media institutions, women's rights and human rights organizations participated.
The meeting was held in response to a request made by the National Committee on Women which has a work-plan to operationalize the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, which includes raising awareness on domestic violence and the newly legislated Act.
• Workshop on CEDAW Shadow Report Writing
5-6 December 2006 Kalutara, Sri Lanka
The WMC in collaboration with the International Women's Rights Action Watch-Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP) conducted a workshop on the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) for the Sri Lankan CEDAW Shadow Report writers. The WMC invited Ms. Shanthi Dairiam, committee member of CEDAW and former Executive Director of IWRAW-AP, to facilitate the workshop.
• Consultation on proposing a
General Recommendation on 'Women and Armed Conflict' to the CEDAW Committee
7 December 2006
Kalutara , Sri Lanka
The WMC, in collaboration with the International Women's Rights Action Watch-Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP) held a consultative meeting to discuss the proposing of a General Recommendation on 'Women and Armed Conflict' to the CEDAW Committee. Ms. Shanthi Dairiam, committee member of CEDAW and former Executive Director of IWRAW-AP, facilitated this meeting.
The objective of the meeting included the need to initiate a process which would focus on Women and Armed Conflict, as this had not yet been covered by any General Recommendation in the CEDAW Convention. The consultation also identified the different phases of conflict, from a Sri Lankan perspective, but not confined or specific to Sri Lanka. The purpose of the General Recommendation is to outline the Obligations of the State. This means that the rights of people that could be violated in times of conflict would have to be identified in these recommendations. The General Recommendation should also address the area of "rights", including a focus on respect, protection, promotion and fulfillment of rights.
2005
• The WMC successfully advocated for the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act which was passed in parliament in August.
• The WMC was involved in the drafting of the Women’s Rights Bill in collaboration with the National Committee on Women and the Ministry of Justice. The Bill is currently under review with the Sri Lankan parliament.
• Head of Household Meeting
July 2005
WMC organized a workshop on Rexamining the concept of Head of households on the 25th July 2005 at the CENWOR auditorium. The following issues were discussed at the meeting by a panel of experts. A Rights Based Framework for Examining the Concept of Head of Household, Land Rights and Head of Household, Census and the Concept of Head of Household, Post Tsunami Relief and Recovery Issues Related to the Concept and Practice of Head of the Household, Religious and Cultural Practice and the Concept of head of Household, Media Representation of Family and Changing Structures of the family. The objective of this workshop is to discuss the concept of head of household, how it is established within the society and what the law or the constitution says about it and to identify women’s rights and formulate recommendations using the CEDAW framework and taking them to the policy making level.
2004
• Conducted a Sticker Campaign on the theme of Sexual Harassment in Public Transport, in Kurunegala.