Empowering Women, Transforming Lives

General

The project aims to build the capacities of women activists and their organisations in Sri Lanka to hold duty-bearers accountable in ensuring socio, economic, cultural and political rights of women in Sri Lanka, especially in relation to their right to land and other natural resources. The project will be implemented by two organisations: Law and Society Trust and Savisthri Women for Development Alternative. The intervention methodology of the project is to empower women to play a major role in policies and laws that affect their lives and livelihood; it is essential that they are able to participate in policy making and planning. By improving ability of local women to engage firstly at local level, and thereafter at regional and national level, and building a coterie of local women leaders who are able to understand, document, analyse and articulate local women's issues nationally and internationally. Therefore, the project will mainly focus on economic, social and political empowerment of women by ensuring their right to land. The project aims to enhance the knowledge base on the issues related to the women’s land rights in war-affected and other areas, Develop the capacities of women activists (these will include the representatives from the other partner organisations of the country programme) and their organisations to monitor the situation of economic, social rights of women and the implementation of government obligations and women’s organisations and finally, these women organisations and activists will be linked with national level movements and networks to identify and advocate for policy changes. As a result, there will be a strong women network at national level, where they will be discussing and addressing the issues from the grassroot level.

Objectives

The implementing partners ‘Law and Society Trust’ (LST) and ‘Savisthri Women for Development Alternatives’ (Savisthri), recently started the implementation of the project that covers Central, North Central, Eastern and Uva provinces of the country. A training module was finalized for the women CSO activists and their organisations to build capacities to hold duty-bearers accountable in ensuring socio, economic, cultural and political rights of women in Sri Lanka, especially their right to land and access to non-exploitative micro-finance services. The baseline data collection of the project was finalized as well. One radio program was conducted on the research findings on land rights and micro finance facts and Savisthri conducted 2- five days training program on Economic, Social and Cultural rights and land rights, more than 25 women activists have been trained on it as well.