Penny Hopkins
WVoN co-editor

This week saw the start of two major events promoting the empowerment of women in Sri Lanka.

Not a surprising fact in itself, perhaps, until you learn that both were organised by the Asian Football Federation (AFF). 

On Friday, a girls’ under-13 football tournament began in Colombo with six Asian nations taking part.

The week-long tournament is part of a larger initiative led by the AFF called “Dream Asia” which aims to promote healthy living and to raise awareness of the spread of HIV and AIDS in Asia.

The intention is to use the power of football to encourage social change.

The Sri Lankan senior women’s team captain, Shanika Rajapaksha, has been involved in helping to hand out leaflets and information throughout the capital.  On Friday alone ten thousand leaflets were distributed at the railway station in Colombo.

Saturday saw 100 women attend a seminar in Colombo entitled “Women’s Empowerment through Football”.

In the first event of its kind, women’s group leaders, school principals and army and police officers as well as women’s football coaches came together to take part in a varied programme under the banner “towards a better quality of life.”

The subjects included women’s football development in Sri Lanka, training in leadership skills, how women can attain a decent work-life balance, education in sexually transmitted diseases and the principles of personal hygiene.

The commitment shown by the AFF is being seen as a clear indication that women are becoming more respected the Asian football world.