Padmini Weerasuriya and Gayani Gomes are unstoppable global feminists at one of The Circle’s grassroots partners – Women’s Centre Sri Lanka.
Padmini (Executive Director) and Gayani (Projects Manager) and their team galvanise and empower female garment worker activists. They are fearlessly pushing for positive change and liberating women to stand up against violence and poor working conditions.
During a visit to the UK, The Circle along with an intimate group of supporters caught up with Padmini and Gayani to hear first-hand the battles they face and how being part of a global network of feminists is so vital for their energy and resilience.
What inspired your passion for this work?
Padmini, Executive Director of Women’s Centre Sri Lanka:
“I was a garment worker myself in a factory in the early 1980’s. In 1982, we had a big strike against conditions and after two years we were dismissed. It was then that we set up the Women’s Centre. I am a single mother with one daughter. I love what we do, working with the women to help bring change for the past 40 years.”
What are things like now for garment workers in Sri Lanka?
“Garment factory workers in Sri Lanka are still struggling to get a living wage, it is not up to the standard they need. Job security and violence against the women are other issues. There are lots of things to battle but we have a very low number of unionised workers in Sri Lanka, only around four percent. If people join a trade union, they are in fear of losing their job the next day because management might take action against them.
As a country we have been going through big economic problems. We have been given another IMF loan. The Government is now trying to increase the eight-hour working day up to 10-12 working hours without overtime. In history, people used to say we had good labour laws compared to other countries in South Asia, this is something we have fought for over many years but with these changes, definitely not now. When it comes to women this will really affect them. We are working with the trade unions and labour movement in Sri Lanka to try to help the female workers and we have been able to do advocacy and rallies against these proposed labour reforms.”
How has The Circle supported your work?
“Funding from The Circle has been vital, especially in these economically challenging times. It has enabled us to organise camps where we provide psychological support and awareness about gender-based violence (GBV), in the context of the ongoing economic crisis. We also used the funds to hold art therapy workshops targeting survivors of GBV where they are offered a creative outlet to express their feelings and start to heal.
Hearing how these camps and workshops are helping the women gives us strength. One female garment worker who attended a counselling camp told us that she felt heard for the first time and that she is not alone in facing the challenges. Another, a single mother who had the wounds of war and was struggling to support her daughter in education – came to a psychological camp, got to know her rights and is now a peer educator. Her child is also in school.
We face ups and downs [in our battles] but because of our close relationships with the workers, we also feel we are not alone. International solidarity is also so important. Linking with the global feminist network through The Circle, it has helped us connect with others nationally and internationally, amplifying our voices at these levels and enabling us to advocate more effectively for policy changes and reforms that benefit women workers in Sri Lanka. This has been especially vital during our economic crisis.
Even though we are from two parts of the world, we feel like we are working together to make change.”
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