Sri Lanka has witnessed a rise in the numbers of female-headed households (FHH) after the war. This includes those FHH in the North and East and also the ‘military widows' in the South. Ad hoc interventions by the state and by civil society have resulted in their concerns not being addressed meaningfully. A welfarist ‘hand outs', ‘one size fits all' approach to interventions has meant that their basic human rights to physical security and right to be free from violence, socio economic, civil and political rights and their psycho social needs have not been addressed. … FOKUS WOMEN seeks to bring clarity to the term ‘female head of household' and also to give visibility to the socio economic and other issues faced by FHH through its research and advocacy with the state. http://www.fokuskvinner.no/Documents/(ESCR)%20in%20Putlam.pdf