Internationally recognized as for her tireless campaigning as a pre-eminent human rights activist, Sunila remained deeply committed to justice and sought redress against various types of human rights abuses in her island home and elsewhere. In recognition of her mammoth contribution to the field of human rights and for constantly broadening its scope, the United Nations presented her with the coveted Human Rights Award in 1999 followed by the Human Rights Watch.
As one of the founders of the Women and Media Collective, she was the energy and inspiration behind many of the earliest initiatives to address issues of women’s representation and portrayal in the media in Sri Lanka – just as she continued to be an inspiration to hundreds of women in the media and the arts. Her contribution to Sinhala theatre and cinema is visible in her many writings on these subjects, mostly on aspects of artistic portrayals, women’s representation and sexuality.
She was also a member of the Board of the Urgent Action Fund for women’s human rights, part of the coordinating group of the feminist dialogue process at the World Socialist Forum and of the Women’s Human Rights Defenders International Coalition.
In addition to her advocacy on women’s rights, she was one of Sri Lanka’s most outspoken and principled human rights activists, championing freedom of expression and the rights of media workers, taking up issues of media rights violations at the highest levels in the pursuit of justice.
Many of the membership of SAWM have been personally influenced and inspired by Sunila Abeysekara, as a mentor and friend, and a guiding light in times of need.
SAWM Sri Lanka
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