This publication is the Sri Lanka country report of the South Asian Regional Research study on ‘Women and Governance/Democratic Process in South Asia: Reimagining the State', initiated by the International Centre for Ethnic Studies (ICES). The Sri Lanka study carried out by ICES sought to understand the role of political and social violence in determining the engagement of women in political processes. While Sri Lankan women's relationship with the state and the impact of the state on the day to day lives of women have been and will remain an extremely complex one, the peace process opens up the possibility of creating political structures which are democratic and inclusive of women.