163-166 / Perera, A. 1990, Battered wife syndrome, a perspective from general practice, Paper presented to the Academic Sessions of the Sri Lanka Medical Association, Colombo. 4 Baklien, B & Samarasinghe, D., 2004. Alcohol and Poverty in Sri Lanka. Oslo: Forut. Introduction As social beings men and women owns rights and hence they are called human rights. The rights or freedom and opportunities accepted by state and society can be enjoyed by a human being since he/she is a social being. Therefore, the rights we enjoy in order to protect our existence, to lead a respectful life and to provide for our own wellbeing should of necessity be used for the common good of society as well. Objectives • To clearly understand Human Rights • To identify special characteristics and different classifications of Human Rights Duration 2 hours Activity 1 What are Human Rights? • Divide the participants into small groups (5-6 in a group). Give one case study each to a group and ask them to read it and answer the relevant questions. Instruct to present before the gathering the answers discussed by each group, through a group leader. Case Studies Case Study 1: Gunapala Gunapala is the eldest boy in a poor village family. When he was studying in Grade 10 his father died of a sudden heart attack. His mother began to work as a coolie on an estate to look after the two younger sisters and the brother of Gunapala. Her income was hardly sufficient to meet family expenses. An uncle of Gunapala found him a job in a hotel in the town. He had to work the whole week continuously from 8.00 a.m. to 10.00 p.m. He was given 2 days a month to go home and his salary was Rs. 7000.00. Due to heavy work and exhaustion he fell ill seriously with fever and the uncle got him admitted to hospital. Although Gunapala was discharged after three days, the doctor advised him to rest for one week. In the mean time the Hotel Manager had informed him to come back to the hotel for work. Gualala’s uncle requested him that Gunapala be given one week’s leave. But the Hotel Manager informed him that he had taken another boy for work as Gunapala had gone home from hospital. 99