Turning heads and raising issues
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Hans
By Duvindi Illankoon
Shear Madness-a Hair Brained Idea’ speaks for itself. Volunteers, both male and female, shaved their heads last month in a bid to raise funds and awareness for Sri Lanka’s vulnerable women and girls. The revolutionary campaign was launched at the Barefoot Cafe (World Human Rights Day) where skilled professionals were on hand to perform the act of shaving, while literary readings on violence and abuse also happened simultaneously.
‘The idea of shaving is about taking informed and empowered decisions about our body,” said Hans Billimoria of the Grassrooted Trust, who organized the event. “However the main focus was to ensure that people sat up and took notice of the issues we were highlighting. Sometimes when you just talk about these issues or show videos or whatever, people fail to connect. But when you believe passionately enough in something that makes you do something more than just talk about it; people listen.”
A participant shaves her head
The campaign was to raise funds to improve skills and business opportunities for marginalised women and girls in the Anuradhapaura district. These women include those living with HIV, women and girls in sex work, and those who have survived violence. “Grassrooted has worked with these women and girls at various levels in both India and Sri Lanka,” explained Hans of the target group. “We have also tied up with other organizations that work directly with these women and girls to support their efforts and introduce economically viable options that would contribute to their quality of life.”
The programme will be set up at the recently inaugurated Dundee International Centre for Learning (also known as the Bishop Andrew Kumarage Centre) at Talawa, where Grassrooted has been invited to set up a resource centre and programmes on sexual and reproductive health and rights. “As Grassrooted works primarily on issues of sexual and reproductive health and rights and HIV, we felt that our contribution could go beyond a standard woman empowerment programme to help the most vulnerable,” said Hans.
The event raised over Rs.50 000 for the cause, with 8 volunteers (five of them female) shaving their heads for the cause.
(The shorn hair will be donated towards the making of wigs for women suffering from cancer) The next edition will be on the February 14, 2013-sign up for the cause at shearmadness@grassrooted.net
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