Surangika Jayarathne

Surangika Jayarathne is a PhD student and Researcher at the Department of Social and Cultural Geography, Institute of Geography, University of Bern. She holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from South Asian University (New Delhi), a Bachlor’s of Arts (Hon.) in International Relations from the University of Colombo, and a Bachelor’s degree in Law from The Open University of Sri Lanka. Her research focuses on transitional child adoption in South Asia, global baby markets, reproductive technologies, feminist geography, and reproductive justice.

Her work bridges human rights, gender studies, and socio-cultural geographies, particularly addressing LGBTQI rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity within international frameworks. She has conducted multi-sited research on inter-country adoption between Sri Lanka and Switzerland, funded by the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship (2021–2024).

Awards:

• Harvard Kennedy School full scholarship for Leadership, Organizing, and Action (2021)
• Oxford University’s CEDAW Human Rights Fellowship (2020)
• Swedish Institute’s Leader Lab Fellowship (2019)
• Sangat South Asian Feminist Fellowship (2018)

Her publications and presentations span topics like the Rohingya crisis, sexual harassment in public spaces, and LGBTQ rights advocacy. She has collaborated with institutions across South Asia, Europe, and Africa, contributing to conferences on human rights, environmental sustainability, and gender equality.