Interview Segment featuring Hafsah Muheed

Hafsah Muheed is an intersectional feminist and human rights advocate from Sri Lanka with 10 years of grassroots experience specializing in cross-sectoral solutions. She works in the nexus of human rights, women’s rights, climate change, disability rights, labour rights, and peacebuilding. A short bio of Hafsah can be found at the end of the Interview.

• Can you share about your journey into activism and what initially inspired you to become involved in the causes you advocate for?

“One of my earliest inspirations for volunteering was an incident that happened in my school when I was 14, where they suddenly stopped collecting waste. We were a semi-government, all-girls school and we didn’t have private funding. The school took the initiative to take care of the waste matter internally by categorizing it and disposing of bio-degradable waste to be used as compost.

However, there wasn’t a mechanism to dispose of our menstrual pads, leading the girls to resort to taking them home in our school bags. Typical Sri Lankan school bags only have two compartments; the first for our books and stationary, and the second for our lunch, and water. For months we had to pack the used pads in our second compartments. While it was unhygienic it was embarrassing when we had to travel in vans, and buses where others could smell the odor.

This prompted me and a few other students to take the initiative and speak up to our principal. We used storytelling as a tool to solve this issue by sharing our experiences and other initiatives we had taken to manage waste effectively at school. That was my first instance of volunteering, although I didn’t know at the time that it counted as “volunteerism.” It was a lived reality and I felt the need to take action, so I did.

The second instance that led me to realize that I want to actively be involved in the Human Rights and Women’s Rights spaces was when I had to prepare for a debate about discriminatory laws, and I came across the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act (MMDA).

It was alarming, and shocking to me because I realized that I would be helpless if it was ever enacted against me. I can’t go to the police or hire a lawyer because the discrimination is lawful itself. When I asked my family, and friends about its provisions, none of them knew about it either which was even scarier. This led me to have informal conversations with women from my community who did not know about the existence of such laws.

From childhood, I had to fight the bias in my family, and community. We often talk about how gender equity has to begin from home, we sometimes don’t understand how such a setup or family background is a privilege. To even do this without harm is a privilege, I must acknowledge that.”

• How have your intersecting identities shaped your perspective on feminism and determined the issues you prioritize in your activism?

“Intersectional identity goes beyond your gender, ethnic, and religious identity. It focuses on language, mental health, abilities, and disabilities. I think as intersectional feminists we need to emphasize more on some of the more intricate parts of people’s identities. This could be what school we went to, the town we live in, and even what clothes we wear, as well as access to income, access to knowledge, because all of these aspects contribute to the person we are, but also how we’re perceived.

As we move forward, it is important to think about these nuances in our activism. For example, I’ve personally observed how programming, in access to policy space, isn’t resonating with the crowds they’re addressing since they haven’t adjusted the content and delivery to match the intersecting identities of the crowd. Whether urban youth, rural youth, women in formal and informal sectors, or urban poor, there is an art to understanding how to discuss the issues we hope to raise awareness about.

For me, this lens has shaped my activism in a way that prioritizes and values lived realities, qualitative research, supporting grassroots movements and efforts, and practical and accessible solutions to those impacted as opposed to an ivory tower lens of perception.

Experiences in my personal life that I’ve faced as an extension of my own intersecting identities have also shaped the areas of activism I prioritize. Causes I advocate for are women’s rights, climate change, accessibility, and equitable representation in decision-making.”

• How have past feminists or women’s movements in Sri Lanka inspired or influenced your work?

“One of my biggest inspirations has been grassroots feminists who transform their communities. The way they execute work within the community, without any spotlight, and the way they treat their work as their life’s purpose has been a guiding insight.

It has shown me a different side of how activism could be, in comparison to formal spaces with large panels, and advisory bodies.

Some of the most memorable and inspiring feminists I’ve come across are the women I worked with, who were participants in the “door to door” project we executed under my humble initiative, Amplifying Impact.

The project was executed in a rural community in Sri Lanka with women who didn’t have National Identity Cards. Usually in Sri Lanka, access to NICs is by sitting for the Ordinary Level Examinations. However, these women didn’t have the privilege to access them.

It was a very tough situation since the villagers were very apprehensive of activists and NGOs conducting programs and visiting their villages. On top of that, these women didn’t have access to mobile phones or digital forms of communication to coordinate with us remotely. However, they strategically organized the women in their community and raised awareness of the necessity of having an NIC. As a result, we were able to raise 32 NICs for the girls of their village, prevent child marriages, and support continued access to education. The courage of those women to take initiative, and be brave was really inspiring.

• The feminist movement has evolved significantly over the years, adapting to new challenges and contexts. What role does intergenerational collaboration play in shaping the future of the women’s movement in Sri Lanka?

Intergenerational collaboration is the cornerstone for success in a movement, especially feminist movements. It is extremely important as it is a way to respect each generation’s experience and expertise, the opportunity for mutual learning.

I also think that the creativity and innovation that is birthed through collaboration between different generations of feminists, and the multiplicity of perspectives create the best sustainable solutions. It becomes far easier to create impact, mobilize people, and even raise funds for our causes. Intergenerational collaboration is also important to bind ourselves together as one community and to build solidarity, especially in today’s context with the rise of the anti-rights movement.

Intergenerational support within the feminist movement can encompass a spectrum of actions, ranging from engaging in dialogue with younger feminists to providing assistance in terms of networking opportunities and access to relevant spaces. These acts of support can manifest in seemingly simple yet impactful ways. Intergenerational solidarity helps to bridge gaps between past, present, and future feminist movements, ensuring the continuity of progress and preserving the legacy of past achievements. By honoring and learning from the struggles and victories of previous generations and as all of us continue to stand on their shoulders. This also helps in recognizing the interconnectedness of various forms of oppression and the importance of addressing systemic inequalities.

• In reflecting on the current state of the feminist movement in Sri Lanka, could you identify any gaps or areas where there is room for improvement or growth?

I think the movement in Sri Lanka has a long way to go in terms of battling internal biases related to ethnic identities, and social class and also the lack of intersection between social causes leading to siloed work. Moreover, I think that it sometimes isn’t the most accessible space for people who aren’t active in the Civil Society Organization space and those active in grassroots spaces through informal structures because for some of us activism is a lived reality, for some a purpose, and for some an occupation, Neither is wrong but ensuring accessibility to all three demographics is critical when taking decisions that impact their work and lives.

Putting intersectional values from theory to practice is also an area I think we’re currently struggling with. At times, we sometimes treat intersectionality as a ticking-the-box exercise without internalizing those values, and principles. As a movement, the inclusion of rural women, and women with disabilities is an aspect that is often overlooked in my opinion.

Another gap I see in the current movement is the lack of relationship-building and collaboration between organizations. We often get so immersed in our own work that we work in fragmented groups without being a collective force at times when it is absolutely necessary.

• Reflecting on your own journey, what are some key lessons you’ve learned that you would like to share with the next generation of feminist activists in Sri Lanka?

I want to acknowledge that I am a work in progress and that the reflections I am sharing are coming out of a place of humbly sharing my experiences rather than a place of advisory.

I would first say, that learning to embrace the process of unlearning is important. From our upbringing and childhood, we’ve had so many biases, and rhetorics ingrained in us. It is important as a feminist, and as a person to understand that we need to be open to different viewpoints, critically asses them by ourselves, and unlearn harmful narratives that we have internalized when we’ve been confronted with them, even though this process is extremely challenging and uncomfortable.

The second is to assume that there is more to the story or issue that you’re confronting. Assume that it runs deeper than what’s visible. If you’re focusing on an issue, talking to the people who are affected by the issue is a core value that you should develop. Compensating them for their time, and emotional labor when they share their experiences with you while fostering the skills to attentively listen, and treat them compassionately is equally important.

Finally, maintaining integrity is a key value a person should cultivate in my opinion. Constantly evaluating who you are when no one is looking is a practice I carry with me. Reflect on this when you’re in a position of power, making a decision, or during any encounter.

I would extend the meaning of integrity to treating causes that you might not be advocating for with equal importance. There might be a specific cause you’re passionate about like gender-based violence, or climate activism. However, acknowledging and treating other causes as being equally important and valuable is essential.

I am a firm believer in the fact that you can’t pick and choose your feminism, you can’t pick and choose which women you advocate for and which you leave out. Your feminism needs to be inclusive of genders, races, people with disabilities, and beyond.

Hafsah Muheed

Hafsah Muheed is an intersectional feminist and human rights advocate from Sri Lanka with 10 years of grassroots experience specializing in cross sectoral solutions. She works in the nexus of human rights, women’s rights, climate change, disability rights, labour rights and peacebuilding. She has worked in the private sector and led social sustainability pillars to 11 business units for a workforce of 15000+ and 11 communities across Sri Lanka, Jordan & Indonesia . She currently works in the corporate governance space on policy and programmes.She has worked with local youth organizations, regional and international organizations in delivering advocacy campaigns, implementing programmes and policy integration.

She was a Director at Sri Lanka Unites; a national youth movement focusing on reconciliation & peacebuilding, is a member of the 30 for 2030 network hosted by UN Women APAC, Member Advisory Group & was a Sounding Board member of the local leadership labs of CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation, Curator of the Global Shapers Hub Colombo, Advisor on Decolonizing Aid at Bond UK, Vice Chair < 30 Governance & Ethics Committee, member of the Joint Youth Working Group on Climate Change and Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, Member of the Climate Action Champions Network, core team member at Youth Advocacy Network Sri Lanka, Women Deliver Young Leader Alumni, Visiting Lecturer & Writer. She is the founder of Amplifying Impact to work with marginalized communities through informal structures.