Kumari
Jayawardena is one of the most prominet feminist scholars in Sri Lanka and in
fact, one of the leading feminist voices in the entire Third World. Ms. Magazine
called one of her books, Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World, one
of the "20 most important book of the feminist decades." This book is
used in Women's Studies programs all around the world. Kumari Jayawardena's research
documents feminist movements in Asia and the Middle East, showing that these movements
are not merely offshoots of Western feminist movements but have developed on their
own as women struggle for equal rights in their nations. Kumari Jayawardena was
nominated for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize as part of the 1000 Women for the Nobel
Peace Prize project.