By Frances Brodrick, Partner Support and Grants Manager
I’ve admired the work of Padmini, Gayani and the team at Women’s Centre Sri Lanka for years. I already thought they were extraordinary. And then Cyclone Ditwah hit – and they’ve managed to inspire even more.
The Women’s Centre, one of The Circle’s incredible partner organisations, supports women working in the garment industry who cope with incredibly tough circumstances every single day. Low wages, long and gruelling shifts and terrible working conditions in the factories are just some of their constant battles. They often live in boarding houses, away from family and support networks, where they are particularly vulnerable to violence and exploitation.
Nishani, a garment worker, told The Circle: “I started working in a garment factory two and a half years ago and when I joined, I thought it would be a supportive environment. But we work 12-hour shifts and I get shouted at if I sit on a stool.”
Sri Lankan communities under water after catastrophic flooding | Source: Women’s Centre Sri Lanka
This is the reality the Women’s Centre faces daily – already operating at maximum capacity with limited funding yet still pouring energy, care and commitment into supporting women living in the toughest of circumstances.
And when Cyclone Ditwah delivered perilous flooding and mudslides, it plunged many women, who were already close to breaking point, into a deeper crisis. A state of emergency has been declared across Sri Lanka, with 410 deaths and hundreds of people displaced from their homes.
Women and children are paying the highest price. Many are now navigating the consequences of the disaster – many moved to unsafe shelters, lack of sanitation, limited mobility, and heightened risks of violence and exploitation. Pregnant and lactating women are also increasingly vulnerable and need emergency support.
Volunteers have been taking fishing boats out to rescue flood victims and deliver aid | Source: Women’s Centre Sri Lanka
I spoke this week to Padmini Weerasuriya, Executive Director of Women’s Centre Sri Lanka, and Gayani Gomez, the centre’s Project Manager. I was so moved to hear how they are responding to the flooding and devastation that the cyclone has brought to Sri Lanka. Landslides are still happening and many of the dead bodies still haven’t been found. And yet, the Women’s Centre team didn’t pause.
Staff have been taking police and navy boats to reach the worst-affected women and girls. Immediately pivoting their work and funds, they have also been providing emergency support, food and water, safe houses and dignity kits for women, including single mothers and their children who have lost their homes in the floods and landslides.
“In Free Trade Zone communities, thousands of women garment workers who live in boarding houses have lost their accommodation and belongings. Our Katunayake and Vavuniya branch offices are functioning as emergency Safe Houses, currently hosting displaced women, children, and elderly persons,” said Padmini.
The cyclone and flooding have tipped hundreds of women who were already living incredibly tough lives into further poverty, destitution and despair. The Women’s Centre has responded with courage and heart. They are truly global feminists in action.
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The Circle’s frontline partners around the world – including in South Sudan, DRC, Afghanistan, Gaza, Nigeria and beyond – are working in perilous times. They are a lifeline for women facing impossible circumstances – and they are doing it while shouldering the global funding cuts that threaten their survival. These women move mountains with almost nothing. Any support you can give to The Circle’s amazing partners, big or small, helps keep this lifeline going.
Will you stand in solidarity and action with them by donating today? Your generosity will keep this vital work going and all our crucial work ensuring that women on the frontline of crisis around the world are not alone.
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