October Member Spotlight — Ishara Palatuwa

Every month, we feature the work and story of a member of the Young Feminist Network with the hope of inspiring and learning from each other. This month, we feature law student, Ishara Palatuwa.

I’m Ishara Palatuwa, a graduate of the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. I am currently getting ready to face Attorney-at-Law final examination at Sri Lanka Law College. I work as a Research Assistant where my main focus area is online harassment. I have a deep passion to work in the development sector where I can channel my passion into work by making a change in the society I live in. I work and also volunteer with marginalized communities in the country i.e. disabled community, LGBTQ community, and also for the protection of the environment we inhabit. I’m interested in the intersectionality of the feminist movement and how we can extend the movement to help those in need. I see myself as a feminist-in-progress because I believe there is so much to learn in this universe and none of us have all the answers within ourselves yet. I try to attach attributes of Spiritual feminism and eco-feminism into my life. For me, Everystory Sri Lanka is a platform to learn, explore myself, and meet people who are like-minded and are curious to learn and take on challenges.

For me, Feminism and Law are two concepts that are interconnected and need further attention in the present context. The feminist theory can help us better understand and address unequal and oppressive norms the society has been focusing on in the past, in drafting and also interpreting the law. While it is mandatory to increase female participation in all forums, I believe the key is to get more men to engage in the feminist movement. Feminism is for everyone, so in my opinion, we should educate men more and get them involved more in the discussions and introduce them to the feminist movement so they understand what the focus of the movement is and we as feminists do not want to create a world where one gender is superiorly oppressing other genders.