Sunila Abeysekera (1952-2013) fought relentlessly for human rights at home in Sri Lanka and abroad.
Sunila Abeysekera (1952-2013) fought relentlessly for human rights at home in Sri Lanka and abroad.
Women’s contributions to peacekeeping efforts are often overlooked, but no more. This month on Womanica we're highlighting women who have spearheaded peacekeeping initiatives all over the world — from India to South Africa to the United States. We cover women like Doria Shafik who led Egypt’s female liberation movement, as well as Coretta Scott King who was a fierce advocate for equality for Black Americans and a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Tune in to hear the stories of women who were integral to creating peace in their communities.
History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.
Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.
Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Liz Smith, Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Ale Tejeda, Sara Schleede, Abbey Delk, and Alex Jhamb Burns. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.
Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.
Follow Wonder Media Network:
Hello! From Wonder Media Network, I’m Meltem Burak. I’m the host and producer of the podcast, Sesta. We aim to harness the power of arts and culture to foster conversation and build peace in Cyprus. I’ll be your guest host for this month of Womanica.
This month, we’re highlighting Peacebuilders: In times of conflict, these women have stepped in, bringing their creativity and insight to help facilitate peace across the globe.
Today, we’re talking about a woman who fought relentlessly for human rights at home in Sri Lanka and abroad. Although women were at the forefront of her fight for justice, she aimed to make the world a safer place for all genders, ethnicities, and religions.
Sunila Abeysekera was born in Sri Lanka on September 4, 1952. She was born into a middle-class Sinhalese family. Sri Lanka is primarily divided between two ethnic groups – the Sinhalese and the Tamil. The Sinhalese make up the majority.
Sunila was gifted from a young age. She received a scholarship to Bishop’s College, a premier Christian girls’ school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. After completing school, Sunila pursued a career as an actress, singer, and dancer. She appeared in many plays and films before also taking on the role of a drama critic.
Sunila worked in the arts until she found herself drawn to the Civil Rights Movement in the mid-1970s. The Civil Rights Movement was a nonpartisan, interethnic organization that advocated for the release of the men and women who had been arrested during the 1971 revolt led by the JVP communist group. Sunila disagreed with the government’s authoritarian response. She got involved by bringing food and clothing to detainees while also working on their release.
But much of Sunila’s activism is defined by the 26-year Sri Lan kan civil war. This conflict began in 1948 after Sri Lanka gained its independence from Britain. Still bitter from Britain’s preference for the Tamils, the Sinhalese government used their newfound independence and power to disenfranchise the Tamils. They made Sinhala the official language and Buddhism the nation’s primary religion.
Tensions between the two groups escalated and in 1983, The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ambushed a Sinhalese army convoy. 13 soldiers were killed in the attack but what followed was worse – violent riots resulting in thousands of deaths and over two decades of civil war.
Although Sunila was Sinhalese, she condemned the government's treatment of the Tamils. Her philosophy was "as a member of the majority ethnic community, all my life I have taken part in collective actions and creative activities to defend minority rights and to celebrate minority cultures". Sunila stood out because she denounced both the government and the Tamils. She was vocal about her disagreement with the state’s disenfranchisement of the Tamils, as well as her opposition to the egregious acts of violence committed by the Tamil Tigers. Sunila wasn’t just vocal locally, but also internationally. On this issue and many others, she spoke at demonstrations, conferences, and the United Nations.
At the center of Sunila’s fight for human rights were women. In her own words, she knew that “women and children are the first victims of any kind of conflict.” Sunila founded and got involved in many organizations that promoted women’s rights. She was a founder of Sri Lanka’s Pacific and Asian Women’s Forum. She fought against the state’s repression of women through the Mothers’ Front organization. And she helped develop the Women for Peace organization which put forth political solutions to Sri Lanka’s ethnic civil war.
In 1984, she founded the Women and Media Collective in Colombo. The organization works to ensure that every Sri Lankan woman lives an autonomous, unbridled life. They aim to embed feminist principles throughout South Asia to create a more just society where women are treated as equals.
Because Sunila spoke out against the government, she was targeted as an enemy of the state. The threats that she received were so bad that in 1988, she fled to the Netherlands for six months. But Sunila returned. In the face of abuse, threats, and discrimination, her courage propelled her forward. She was a shining example of what it meant to oppose and confront abusive authority.
In 1989, Sunila was a founding member of the group INFORM. The group monitored and documented the government's and Tamil Tigers' human rights abuses, including disappearances. This was a dangerous act of defiance during a time when the government and the Tigers were fostering an environment of fear and suppression. This documentation played a crucial role in highlighting the conflict on an international level. In 1990, Sunila became the Executive Director of the organization.
Her work expanded outside of Sri Lanka as well. She was instrumental in getting the international world to acknowledge women’s rights as human rights at the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993. Sunila also advocated for the equality of women by helping ensure that the United National Security Council passed Resolution 1325. This legislation supports women’s participation in peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction.
Other minorities that Sunila championed included sex workers, gay men and women, transgender people, and those living with H.I.V and AIDs. Part of what made her such an effective activist was her refusal to discriminate. No matter the ethnicity, gender, class, religion, or political affiliation, Sunila supported those in need.
In 1998, Sunila was celebrated for her work when she received the UN Secretary General’s Award for Human Rights. In the mid-2000s, Sunila joined several organizations and initiatives that sought to include and protect women. Much of this work led to her nomination as one of the One Thousand Women for the Nobel Peace Prize. And in 2007, Human rights Watch awarded her its Human Rights Defender Award.
Sunila never stopped using her voice to highlight injustice. And even though it caused her to have to flee her country more than once, she knew it was worth it. In an interview, she said, “When everyone is criticizing you, then you are doing the right thing.”
Sunila Abeysekera died of cancer on September 9, 2013, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She was 61 years old.
All month, we’re talking about peacebuilders. For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram @womanicapodcast.
Special thanks to co-creators Jenny and Liz Kaplan, for having me as a guest host.
As always, we’ll be taking a break for the weekend. Talk to you on Monday!