Visaka Dharmadasa

Visaka Dharmadasa is one of the numerous women who was affected by the Sri Lankan war. She is dedicated to peacebuilding and is highly regarded globally as an activist who has fought for including women in the peace process in Sri Lanka.
In 2009, Visaka founded the Association of War Affected Women and Parents of Servicemen Missing in Action – an institute that she also Chairs. This platform engages in peacebuilding dialogues between conflict-affected women from different ethnicities in Sri Lanka, drawing on lessons from the Nepal Peace process.
Visaka believes in the power of networking between women groups to empower women in the region. She is a network member for Inclusive Security Women Waging Peace, part of the expert pool of Resolution to Act for UNSCR 1325, and a member of the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. She is the Director of the National Peace Council and People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), Sri Lanka. With several accomplishments including a Nomination of the collective Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 and winner of the InterAct Humanitarian Award in 2006, Visaka Dharmadasa is a global voice on empowerment and inclusion of women in peacebuilding process.