Abstract
This chapter surveys developments in feminisms and psychologies in Sri Lanka. It briefly recounts the history of feminist activism—educational and social reforms; efforts to improve the rights and status of women and girls; and humanitarian and development activities focused on economic and social empowerment. In contrast to the lengthy record of feminist activism, academic psychology has experienced a slow take-up in Sri Lankan universities. As of 2010, there still were no full-fledged departments of psychology. Case studies of three NGOs addressing women concerned with promoting the psychosocial well-being of women are presented. Although their aims and practices vary, the NGOs have in common a psychosocial orientation. That is, they are skeptical of “therapeutic” approaches aimed at creating individual change. Instead, their way of thinking gives priority to the social ecology and their ways of working emphasize social change.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Rachel Tribe for providing feedback on and additions to our description of the Women’s Empowerment Program. We also thank Dr. Harini Amarasuriya for a number of conversations about the work of Nest and about feminist practice in humanitarian organizations. We are grateful to the staff members of WIN for their thoughtful and candid discussions of their work.
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Marecek, J., Appuhamilage, U.M. (2011). Present but Unnamed: Feminisms and Psychologies in Sri Lanka. In: Rutherford, A., Capdevila, R., Undurti, V., Palmary, I. (eds) Handbook of International Feminisms. International and Cultural Psychology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9869-9_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9869-9_15
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