‘An interconnected sisterhood that ignites the inner power of women by healing, celebrating diversity and womanhood through creative, nature friendly efforts’; the mission statement of Woman reads out.
It is truly a happy sight to see these women leaving aside their differences or hardships to come together in one voice and purpose. Woman, an organization that operates under the Centre for Peace Building and Reconciliation (CPBR) founded by Dr. Jayantha Seneviratne and Dishani Jayaweera, is the hard work of Dishani, Chandra and Chandi.
As part of their search in identifying female religious leaders’ role in peace building and reconciliation, Woman has been working with female religious leaders over the past two years and also female leaders at grassroots level.
Woman held their first stall at the Good Market yesterday which showcased handcraft varying from wood carvings to bed spreads. “This is a juncture and result of a long process that we started two years ago. We have around 22-25 women working with us. They contribute and work with us from Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Batticaloa districts,” said Dishani Jayaweera, a co-founder of Woman.
The effort of this group is to explore the role religious and female leaders can play. Most of the beneficiaries are from war affected areas and also those who are differently-abled. Woman aims to bring them to political discourse to develop their skills and capacity.
Woman will have a stall today and tomorrow at the Sri Lanka Exhibition and Convention Centre (SLECC) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Pic: Vipula Amarasinghe