Born in Sri Lanka, Gunaratnam arrived in Norway at the age of 3 and grew up in Oslo. She is a courageous political leader, not afraid of challenging the established order and committed to political issues that contribute to more democracy, community involvement, and transparency. At the age of 28 she was elected as the youngest Oslo Deputy Mayor in history. In this role she has been especially outspoken about the fight against discrimination and hate speech. She herself is a survivor of terrorism rooted in hatred and intolerance: In July 2011, when she was 23, Gunaratnam was attending a Workers’ Youth League Camp on the island of Utøya where Anders Breivik killed 69 people, acting out Islamophobia and anti-feminism. Gunaratnam swam 500 metres across the Tyrifjorden Lake to survive, as bullets struck the water around her. She is currently the leader of the Workers Youth League (AUF) in Oslo, a member of the central board of AUF, and has been the editor of AUF's magazine, Praksis. Moreover, she is a member of the Standing Committee on Culture and Education.