Empower: Building peace through the economic empowerment of women in northern Sri Lanka

This is an ILO - World Food Programme (WFP) joint project, which aims to enhance economic empowerment, social integration, and resilience of female former combatants and other disadvantaged and conflict affected women in Northern Sri Lanka by increasing their participation in economic livelihood and peace building activities. The targeted women for this project are 350 plus members of the Puthukkudiyiruppu Women Entrepreneurs’ Cooperative Society in one of the most isolated and war-affected Northern District of Sri Lanka, Mullaitivu and female headed households who are owners of micro and small enterprises in the District. The project supports these women through connecting their cooperative enterprises with new markets, networks and opportunities that have opened up as a result of an improved post-conflict environment. The EMPOWER project endeavours to achieve two main outcomes, firstly to ensure that female former combatants and other conflict-affected women in Northern Sri Lanka increase their economic contribution through effectively accessing new market opportunities, resources and information and secondly to leverage their increased social status, derived from enhanced economic empowerment, to be a leading voice in the region’s private sector contribution to peacebuilding. The project believes that if female former combatants and other war-affected women and female-headed households are engaged in income generating activities in productive economic sectors, participate in management of cooperative enterprises, and develop business with partners beyond their own communities and ethnic groups, then they are more likely to gain greater decision-making roles and acceptance in their community and be more involved in reconciliation and conflict risk mitigation and they are able to make visible and economically independent contributions and benefits to their society.

Project symbol

LKA/17/03/UND

Admin unit

CO-Colombo

Start date

01/01/2018

End date

20/05/2020

Total allocation

1485000

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

914353

Development Partners

Multi Partner Trust Fund Office, UNDP

Country/Countries

Sri Lanka

Outcomes

Outcome 3: Economic, social and environmental transitions for full, productive and freely chosen employment and decent work for all