Meet Lakmini — a champion of change in Sri Lanka
“ It is my passion to work with and work for women”
International Women’s Day is here once again and this year’s official theme is “think equal, build smart, innovate for change. It is focused on creating a gender-balanced world and ensuring that women are represented everywhere — governments, in the media, at work and in their homes. Gender balance is essential for economies, families and communities to thrive.
For this year’s International Women’s Day, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) interviewed Lakmini Perera, WFP’s Gender Officer. She has just joined and is excited to work towards a world with Zero Hunger and equality for all.
Lakmini will be working for the new joint project with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to improve women’s nutrition and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in Sri Lanka. This programme will provide critical information services on sexual and reproductive health, nutrition and food security to women across the country over the next year.
Could you please share your personal stories of how you have supported gender equality?
It is my passion to work with and work for women. At home and work I value and respect the diversity of each individual and their rights irrespective of their gender, sex, age, nationality etc. I believe learning about respect starts from home and I am glad that I was raised in such an environment. When I was growing up, I saw how my dad helped my mother at the kitchen and included her in making decisions.
Whenever I have met a beneficiary, I have tried to serve them as a friend. In addition, whenever my friends asked me to get information on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) or gender issues, I help them to find out more. Finally, I always have tried hard to include gender issues in most of my trainings and projects.
Who inspired you the most?
It’s hard to specify just one person who has inspired me a lot. I would say multiple people and activists in the field have inspired me to work in this field. When I first got into the gender field I was helped a lot by senior colleagues. I saw them working for women who had beenabused, people suffering from HIV, and people with disabilities. Seeing how that has changed the lives of them and the community inspired me a lot. For example, I have been extremely impressed from young activists. They have powerful voices and they represent people and their rights. Indeed, the transformative power of inter-generational activism is very powerful, and it inspired me to continue my work in this field. These factors broadened my perspective and inspired me to to study and work in this area.
What does WFP do to end GBV in Sri Lanka?
I am really grateful to WFP for creating the slogan “WFP say No to Gender Based Violence” and for incorporating gender equality into our work. WFP in Sri Lanka has many workshops, training and programmes to educate and increase awareness of GBV. In addition, many projects have helped to increase equity of women.
What do you think of men or women’s role to improve equity of women?
Women need to understand that all opportunities are equally available for them. Women are sometimes raised in a manner where we think we are dependents. Sometimes this is the reason why we stay in abusive relationships and bear injustice. However, women and men have the same rights and are born equal. People should respect autonomy and should know to value and respect everyone, so everyone’s dignity is preserved. This will give a chance to men and women to take control in their lives and are aware of when to say yes or no. So we can make empowered decisions this way and reach our full potential.
Importantly, we should also target and work with men in this agenda. Because if we only work with women, we aren’t working with the whole population towards success. We should equally work with both parties, so that women can take a control of their lives and bodies.
What was the motivation that made you to work for gender balance?
At first, I was studying to become a teacher. However, it was my mom who saw about the degree on Social Work in newspaper, and registering for the course changed my life. I started volunteering for an organization which was working on family planning. So, I worked on sexual and reproductive health and rights. This is such a tabooed subject in Sri Lanka. Even some of my friends who worked in the same field hid it from their families. I have also observed that if you talk about and for women and their rights, you can sometimes be humiliated and hated. This inspired me to work on gender equity.
In addition, my colleagues, my family and husband are very supportive of me to work in this area of work full-time. My husband is very supportive and does housework at home and understand the need for him to do it. It could have been much difficult for me to work if there were no encouragement or help from them.
Read more about WFP’s work in Sri Lanka.
