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The Young Feminists' Network Newsletter- Issue V 2025
Everystory Sri Lanka
June 30, 2025
Contact us: | The Young Feminist Network was established in July 2020 by Everystory Sri Lanka to bring together people interested in learning more about feminism, particularly from a Sri Lankan and South Asian perspective. This month, our newsletter is curated on the theme of Questioning. |
LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR
Dear Reader,
This June, as we approach Pride Month and continue Everystory's programming in partnership with Sister Library, we take a closer look at the act of questioning.
Whether it is to do with points of view or ways of being, others’ or our own, questioning the status quo is an essential part of putting feminism into practice. In this issue, we explore stories at the intersection of gender and sexuality, mental and physical health, culture, heritage and ethnicity (to name a few), as narrated through art and activism. We draw from sources both local and global, looking equally to the past and present as well as to the (more feminist) future we strive towards.
For me, this has been a lesson on the need, always, to cultivate curiosity.
We invite you to engage with the stories here and to share your own: as always, we hope to find your comments, feedback, and (with luck) your recommendations, in our inbox. We are always available at [email protected]!
In solidarity,
Chathuni Uduwela
Guest Editor - 2025 Issue V
Sister Library
International Day of Action for Women’s Health
We are so proud to share this beautiful collaboration with ARROW, who commissioned Everystory to bring this project to life. Rooted in care, creativity, and our belief that women everywhere deserve the right to safe, accessible abortion, this video reflects the heart of our work—using storytelling as a tool for advocacy, connection, and change. We are deeply grateful for the partnership that made this possible.
This collaborative effort aligns with the global theme of the 2025 International Day of Action for Women’s Health: “In Solidarity We Resist: Our Fight, Our Right!” The theme underscores the urgency of collective resistance against the rollback of sexual and reproductive health rights worldwide.
For more information on the International Day of Action for Women’s Health and ongoing efforts to advance reproductive rights, visit may28.org
THIS MONTH WE’RE READING
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
The year is 1961. In the Netherlands, Isa lives alone in her childhood home, meticulously preserving every element of the home just as her mother would have liked it. Her neatly ordered and meticulously-planned routine is upended when her brother’s girlfriend, Eva arrives as a houseguest for the summer. At first defensive about Eva encroaching upon her space, Isa grows to see her in a new, romantic light. Soon, Isa finds herself reckoning not just with her growing feelings for Eva, but also the family’s actions in the wake of the Second World War.
The novel questions juxtaposes memories with imagined histories, questioning the significance and veracity of each. It is a thought-provoking read, both in relation to queer awakenings of desire and the responsibility that survivors of war, must bear.
The Safekeep was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2024 and won the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2025.
The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden
THIS MONTH
WE’RE WATCHING
A Portrait of a Lady on Fire
A lesbian love story set in 18th century France, this film was described by its director, Céline Sciamma, as a “manifesto about the female gaze.” A slow, lingering romance, it follows a painter commissioned to create a portrait of a young woman, to be sent to her future husband, who has never met her. A painter and subject take each other in, they begin to fall in love. The result is a cinematic homage to women artists, women’s desire and solidarity—and a keen observation on how choosing to remain single, without being defined by a male partner, is a quiet revolution in its own right.
The film won both Best Screenplay and the Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival in the year of its release.
THIS MONTH
WE’RE DOING
This exhibition brings together the works of Muslim artists who explore the gendered experiences of Sri Lankan Muslim women through different lenses. Through visual and textual storytelling, they examine the lives of Muslim girls and women—their capacity to define complex identities and craft authentic narratives beyond what is imposed by patriarchal figures. It also delves into the weight of women's lived experiences—the burdens carried, the resilience forged, and the struggles endured.
The exhibition acknowledges the complexities of a faith where Muslim women have historically held positions of power and been recognized as man's twin equal, yet whose rights are often overlooked in present-day Islamic society. As the Quran states:
"And for women are rights over men similar to those of men over women." (2:226)
At its core, this exhibition provides a safe space for women to reclaim and redefine their identities beyond inherited or assigned roles. By amplifying women's voices and perspectives, we hope to spark critical discussions on autonomy, representation, and the right to self-determination and for women to reflect on their own experiences, and engage in dialogue about the evolving realities of their lives.
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