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By Bhagya Wijayawardane Although access to family planning is considered a millennium development goal according to the United Nations, and a human right, the shortage of family planning commodities in Sri Lanka still persists. As a result of the lack of awareness for long- term methods of family planning, women often turn towards abortion as a form of birth control. The law governing abortion in Sri Lanka is exceedingly restrictive, while permitting exceptions for cases where pregnancy/child birth is life-threatening to the mother. In a year, a country with a population of 19 million performs between 150,000 and 175,000 unsafe abortions at over 3,000 abortion centers (according to the Family Planning Association (FPA) Resource Centre). Women below the age of 18 and over 30 are among the majority of women who confront such illegal abortions, especially in countries that restrict abortions, like Sri Lanka. 30-year-old Meenakshi’s home is located in a beautiful town of Wel...

We are finally waking up to the impact of our choices on the environment. Thanks to global events such as the Earth Day. I was visiting Wahamangollawa, a rural village thirty kilo meters away from the Anuradhapura city, last summer. A unique and fascinating village which has a rich cultural heritage, exquisite temples, monuments, lakes, wildlife sanctuaries, and natural landscape of often-enchanting beauty and a home to many thousands of prolific artists and craftsmen, nevertheless, still largely undiscovered. The villagers are gentle fierce defenders of their region’s traditional culture and ardent believers in and proponents of sustainable living. They encourage anyone with even a passing interest in living off the grid, growing their own food, building a home, farming, or an interest in more general environmental issues to explore their village that is typically a refuge for learning about, practicing, and enjoying wholesome and sustainable living. I spent time wander...