The Challenge
The Centre for Equality and Justice is a women's organization based in Colombo Sri Lanka that works for gender justice. Its mission is to promote gender equality through advocacy and influencing for good governance, economic empowerment of women, and adherence to international principles and standards.
Sriyani lives with her daughter and elderly mother in Kurunegala. Her husband, a soldier was killed in the war. She attends to the needs of her daughter and elderly mother and manages household expenses with great difficulty as she is unemployed.
Sriyani wakes up at dawn every day. She sweeps the house, places fresh flowers at the Buddha shrine before waking her daughter up.
Quickly waving her daughter off to school from her doorstep, Sriyani hurries to get dressed. She needed to visit the Divisional Secretariat with some documents. After worshipping her mother, Sriyani leaves home to catch the bus into town.
Sriyani arrives at the Divisional Secretariat. She approaches the reception desk and asks who she can speak to regarding a grant she applied for. She is told the Officer in Charge of Grants will be able to help.
The Officer in Charge responds to Sriyani’s formal query in a flirtatious manner. He demands that she returns to his office after 05:00pm to go through her application.
Sriyani is uncomfortable with this request. Yet she knows if she does not submit the application soon she will be unable to afford food for her family next week. She calls her mother to say she will come home later as she needed to meet the Officer in Charge.
Sriyani enters the Divisional Secretariat promptly after 5.00pm. She sees the Officer and once inside his office she sees that he has been drinking. He closes the door and starts stroking her hair and touches her hand.
