January 1, 2025 Bridge Team
‘Vishama Sama’ Brings Human Rights Campaign to Life Through a True Story of LGBTIQ+ Sri Lankans
In commemoration of International Human Rights Day, a groundbreaking theatrical production highlighted the ongoing human rights challenges faced by LGBTIQ+ individuals. “Vishama Sama,” a play based on true events, was staged at Colombo’s Elphinstone Theatre on December 18th, 2024.
The production arrives at a pivotal moment in Sri Lanka’s history, as momentum builds for the potential repeal of colonial-era legislation that has long impeded human rights progress. Legal provisions, including Sections 365, 365A, and 399 of the Penal Code and the Vagrants Ordinance, have served as formidable barriers to equality, enabling the targeting, harassment, and arbitrary detention of LGBTIQ+ individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC).
“Theatre has the unique power to humanize legal and social issues that many consider abstract,” said Satya Ramanayake, Project Manager of BRIDGE to Equality, the organizers of the production. “Through ‘Vishama Sama,’ we aimed to show how discriminatory laws don’t just exist on paper – they have real, devastating impacts on people’s lives, dignity, and fundamental human rights.”
BRIDGE to Equality, launched in 2021, unites three prominent organizations – Diversity and Solidarity Trust (DAST), National Transgender Network of Sri Lanka (NTN), and Young Out Here Trust (YOH) – working in partnership with the International Commission of Jurists. The initiative focuses on strengthening human rights protections for LGBTIQ+ individuals by addressing legal framework challenges and empowering justice actors and human rights defenders.
The production, directed by Suresh Madushan with musical direction by Sudarshan Krishantha, featured performers Uditha Liyanage, Yashodha Rasanduni, Gaveesha Rathnaweera, and Bhoomi Harendran. Through their performances, the cast illuminated the human cost of laws that violate the rights to privacy, dignity, and equality before the law.
“This production serves as a gateway for the public and policymakers to understand the lived realities of LGBTIQ+ individuals and the impact of insufficient legal protections,” said Attorney-at-Law Dimithri Wijesinghe, Senior Advocacy Officer of BRIDGE to Equality.
While public discourse and awareness around the rights of LGBTIQ+ individuals continue to grow, Sri Lanka faces a historic opportunity to decriminalize same-sex sexual conduct through legislative reform. The repeal of colonial-era laws would align the country’s legal framework with international human rights standards and affirm the fundamental dignity of all Sri Lankans.
