Empowering Women In Sri Lanka Essay

Including women in separate facilitated meetings allows freedom of though and expression among women, that might otherwise be silenced if the discussion is integrated with men. Women have the capacity for both violence and peace, and therefore are just as culpable for the conflict and its resolution. Women are often excluded from public opportunities and decision making, therefore it is important to empower them to be involved in the peace building process (Schirch 2004, 9). Women, like men, can fill many roles within conflict and peacebuilding. Women are equally capable of conflict resolution skills. The purpose of this step is to ensure women are taught the skills of communication, dialogue, negotiation, and mediation (Schirch 2004, 9). The …show more content…
Additionally, women in Sri Lanka are the center of the household, influencing family members and neighbors. Based on my experience it is typical for Sinhalese women in a neighborhood to socialize daily. By using this opportunity to get women together to socialize, Sarvodaya can imbed facilitators to lead discussions on gender and conflict. The first step is to brainstorm what identity means to the women. This will take place over four sessions to prevent overwhelming women and to give appropriate space for women to reflect in between …show more content…
This session is an active exercise to encourage woman to envision a future for their communities and to identify gaps between the current and potential peacebuilding. This session opens with an opportunity for women to share what they are doing and ways they already impact peacebuilding (Schirch 2004, 22). Appreciating what participants already are doing encourages others to see impact in acting. After breaking into small groups to brainstorm, the session concludes with a large group effort to help close the gap between reality and expectation for peacebuilding efforts (Schirch 2004,