UNFPA Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan Fashion Brand Label Amilani Perera embarked on a partnership starting in 2020 to address the issue of violence against women and girls through fashion and the apparel industry. The apparel industry sees a large portion of women engaged from designing, producing to modeling amongst many other aspects.
UNFPA introduced Amilani Perera to the Women’s Development Center (WDC), which runs shelters and safe homes for survivors of violence in Kandy. Through the partnership, Amilani Perera worked with survivors of violence in product development in addition to mentoring programmes that enhanced design skills. Leading from this partnership, UNFPA collaborated with Colombo Fashion Week 2021 to reach out to more people on the issue of gender-based violence, with a special focus on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).
In 2023, Amilani Perera’s Colombo Fashion Week showcase highlighted the UNFPA Bodyright Campaign, which focused on highlighting the impact of technology-facilitated gender-based violence. The new retail collection is now available at the new AMILANI PERERA flagship store in Colombo 05. The collection was made in collaboration with survivors of violence.
Following the opening, UNFPA Representative Kunle Adeniyi, Founder and Managing Director of Colombo Fashion Week Ajai Vir Singh and Designer Amilani Perera spoke on the importance of raising awareness on gender-based violence, especially with the rise of technology, in the fashion and apparel industry in Sri Lanka.
Speaking on the partnership, UNFPA Country Representative Mr. Kunle Adeniyi stated, “Art and creatives are powerful tools to communicate, address and raise awareness on social issues. Sexual and gender-based violence continue to be one of the greatest human rights violations and technology is increasingly being misused and weaponized against women and girls on the basis of their gender. The partnership with Amilani Perera and Colombo Fashion Week provided us an opportunity to expand our message into a different area. It is great to see fashion moving forward in addressing current social issues.”
As one of the lead UN agencies working to further gender equality and women’s empowerment, UNFPA strives to effectively prevent and respond to violence against women and girls for a safer Sri Lanka for all.
The Mithuru Piyasa Hotline (070 26 11 111) helps women, girls and children who experience domestic violence by creating a safe space to talk about their experience and create a safe environment.
