Former Sri Lanka cricket Captain, Mahela Jayawardena has called on the Government to repeal laws that discriminate against LGBT+ people.
Speaking to Dailymirror, the cricketing icon, expressed his sadness at the amount of discrimination being faced by LGBT+ people in Sri Lanka.
In a groundbreaking statement, he said that as much as changing laws is essential, it was important to change mindsets through reforms to education.
Speaking on his own past ignorance on issues faced by the LGBT+ community, Jayawardena said that Sri Lanka’s education system needs to better educate and prepare students in understanding their own sexual orientation and gender.
Sri Lanka lacks any form of comprehensive sexual and relationship education. This has often been blamed for the increasing incidents of sexual violence and gender-based discrimination reported in the country.
Jayawardena also spoke on the importance of families accepting and standing by their LGBT+ children.
Speaking on cricket and sports, the former Sri Lanka captain said that any person, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity, should be able to represent Sri Lanka in any sport.
He said he wished to see LGBT+ Sri Lankans in sports and that someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity should not impact anyone’s ability to play sports well.
The popular and much-loved cricketer’s interview is part of a new campaign called Better Together. The campaign, led by legal pro bono organization iProbono, is bringing together leaders in sport, business, politics, and culture to highlight discrimination being faced by the LGBT+ community and demand changes to laws that perpetuate violence and discrimination against the community. (NewsWire)
