Co-Lead, Operations, Delete Nothing

Shelani Palihawadana is an Attorney-at-Law with a bachelor’s degree in Law from the University of Colombo and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Human Rights in Human Development and Gender Justice at the University of Colombo. She is a feminist activist working on sexual and reproductive health rights, gender, disability rights, and safe abortion. She is also a peer educator and master trainer on SRHR and works closely with the deaf community in Sri Lanka. She was a sitting member of the Technical Advisory Committee on Adolescent and Youth Health at the Family Health Bureau of Sri Lanka (2019-2022). She practiced constitutional law and was a research officer at the Ministry of Justice, attached to the Cabinet Appointed Experts Committee to Draft a New Constitution, before shifting to work full-time on issues related to SRHR, gender, and disability. She was the Project Lead of ‘Prathya’—a hotline-based ecosystem of support for persons affected by OGBV—and currently serves as the Programs Director at Youth Advocacy Network Sri Lanka and the Co-Lead Operations at Delete Nothing.