Women’s Resource Centre (WRC)

Women’s Resource Centre (WRC)

During the aftermath of the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009), thousands of war widows became the primary income earners in their households in the absence of their husbands. Their sudden transition came at a time when social stigma and patriarchy meant that women were treated with hostile discrimination. As a result, these women encountered severe gender-based violence and exploitation as they struggled to survive.

 

The Women’s Resource Centre (WRC) recognized these issues and established an organization to support military widows and alleviate their suffering. The WRC’s main objective is to support widowed women to overcome socio-economic obstacles: mainly discrimination, exploitation and poverty.  The initiative proposed by WRC aims to empower military widows and raise social awareness. Their programs include organizing leadership workshops, documenting the narratives of military widows who experienced gender-based violence, creating pressure for groups to uphold the rights of military widows and initiating district-level meetings to lobby government officials to implement gender-sensitive policies.