Category: Feminism
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Leaving / Arriving
Today, on the day I leave India, I thought it would be nice to share this picture, which was shared via my mother’s friends on Facebook a few days ago. This is the great South Asian feminist sisterhood, as we know it, circa 1986. My amazing mother Sunila Abeysekera, wears possibly biggest smile in the…
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In My Mother’s Skin (A Personal History)
Invoking I’ve found it’s easiest to invoke my mother’s spirit when my heart is breaking. I am young. I am in love; heartbreak is common. I follow some simple steps: I turn off all the lights except the one in the bathroom. I take a long, hot shower; hot, hot, where the heat sears…
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Emma Watson’s Unexceptional, Somewhat Ignorant Speech
A young, educated, privileged, white woman-celebrity gets appointed a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador six months ago (UN Women is the United Nations organisation that works with women’s rights and issues). At the UN General Assembly, to launch a UN Women campaign on gender equality, this celebrity spokesperson, the Goodwill Ambassador, is asked to make a…
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‘Nirbhaya: The Play’ and the Simple Power of Stories Being Told
I am very skeptical about testimonial-based works of art, particularly performances. I haven’t seen or read many testimonial-based plays or ‘verbatim’ shows that haven’t left me squirming and cringing in their wake — usually because they are melodramatic, over-acted, full of unmitigated angst and hardly ever provide any real interpretation or analysis. Lately, I have…
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Op-Ed for the Republic Square (Sri Lanka)
Originally published here. ———————————————————————————————– The Namal Rajapaksa Twitter fiasco: Sri Lanka, sexism & political correctness Subha Wijesiriwardena is a Sri Lankan blogger and theatre practitioner currently living in Bangalore, India. The Namal Rajapaksa Twitter fiasco of March 4th revealed to us a great many interesting and disturbing things about Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan politics…
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BEYONCÉ and The Dilemma of the Post-Feminism Feminist
In the TED talk by Chimamanda Adichie, now widely famous because excerpts of it have been featured in a song off the all-new Beyoncé album (titled BEYONCÉ), she says the best feminist she knows is her brother, who is, she assures you, very masculine. Adichie is very much a spokesperson for the young, articulate, optimistic post-feminist…
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Me Talking About ‘Feminism’ – Surprise, Surprise
I was reared and raised by feminists – men and women both – so I’ve always had a pretty simple relationship with the idea. Needless to say I’m always a little shocked to find young women that, for one reason or another, reject the idea. I contributed a small piece to the new issue of…
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You Still Don’t Really Get It, Do You? (My Women’s Day Post)
I watched an episode of Oprah Winfrey once about dolphin conservation; she said saving dolphins was important because dolphins had been known to rescue humans. It made me so angry, and was another brick in the wall of my long drawn-out hatred of the woman. I couldn’t understand how she didn’t see how blatantly wrong and…
Subha M Wijesiriwardena 