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By Sandun Jayawardana 

The expenditure head of the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs was debated yesterday (8) in the backdrop of International Women’s Day, with MPs pointing to progress already made but also outlining the many challenges that continue.

Making a ministerial statement prior to the start of the debate, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya noted that International Women’s Day was a day to mark the struggles of women around the world. She paid tribute and expressed gratitude to the women in Sri Lanka who have been engaged in various struggles throughout history. “It is thanks to their struggles that 22 of us are in Parliament today,” she observed, referencing the record number of 22 female MPs in the Tenth Parliament of Sri Lanka.

In the backdrop of these changing times, women have more space in politics, and there is also more attention directed towards women in politics, the Premier told the House. “Female leaders have emerged. We have seen that irrespective of party differences,” she said, adding that, however, female politics is not limited to party or representative politics. One of the slogans of the feminist movement is that “the personal is political.” This means that women have to struggle both in the personal and public space, she noted, asserting “all our struggles are political.”

Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya

“Today, women have come to realise that their private struggle was actually a political one. This is why women’s politics has gained the recognition it has received today. That is why we should recognise this day and celebrate it. The struggle we used to wage alone has now become a collective one. We are getting to a situation where we are standing up for each other. Yes, there are still obstacles and there will be mistakes along the way, but we all know that there are no struggles without challenges and obstacles,” Dr. Amarasuriya remarked.

While progress has been made, there is still a long way to go, the PM pointed out. She highlighted that Sri Lanka is still ranked 110th out of 146 countries on the gender gap. “In terms of Parliamentary representation, we are almost at 10% but in no way can that be seen as sufficient,” she emphasised.

“Our biggest issue as women is that in a man’s world, we are considered quite small,” Matale District Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Rohini Kumari Wijerathna told Parliament, opening the Committee Stage debate on the Women and Child Affairs Ministry’s expenditure head. However, it is not because of any fault of women that women are encountering the problems they are, she argued.

“Women are subjected to domestic violence because of a problem with the person subjecting them to domestic violence. Between 50-60% of schoolgirls do not attend school during their menstruation period because menstruation pads are too expensive. That is not their fault but the fault of policymakers. Though 64.7% of undergraduates are women, their representation in the workforce that same year is 32.1%,” she observed. Ms. Wijerathna further noted women are being prevented from joining the workforce by men who cite the need to grant maternity leave to deny them employment. Meanwhile, 90% of women encounter sexual and verbal harassment on public transport. Research also states that one in five women are subjected to physical or sexual abuse by their intimate partner, she stressed.

She questioned how any of these issues were the fault of the women. “Where are the rights we have been demanding throughout history? Where is the equality and empowerment? I see the attitudes of men as the main issue here. I see it as a problem with the men in places charged with making laws and implementing them.”

The National People’s Power (NPP) government has introduced a gender sensitive budget for the first time in history, Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Paulraj asserted, adding that the government has taken on the responsibility of enacting policy and structural changes for the benefit of women and children in the country.

She reminded Parliament that while previous governments had not given Cabinet status to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, the NPP government had created a full Cabinet Ministry for the subject.

“This subject is not something that only women should be speaking about. We should be speaking up for men, children, those with disabilities and anyone else who has been left behind in society,” Minister Paulraj remarked.

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, meanwhile, highlighted the importance of increasing female representation in the workforce. He opined that it could be increased to at least 45% from the current 32% if the government were to extend the 12-week maternity leave benefits to women in both the public and private sectors. He said it would only cost between Rs. 8-10 billion to do so. He also proposed the establishment of two separate Presidential Task Forces; one dedicated to women and the other for children.

Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara agreed on the need to have a strong legal framework to ensure the protection of women. However, laws alone will not be sufficient unless people’s attitudes also changed, he stressed. This changing of attitudes should start from childhood. “If we are to create a society where women are protected and treated with dignity, we need to start from home. We can make laws, but I believe if every mother and father taught their male children to treat women with dignity and that cooking or washing dishes are life skills rather than a woman’s job, when one or two generations of such children become adults, we can create a society where rather than just laws, men will step up to protect women.”

Regarding the rights of children, Minister Nanayakkara said legislation to ban physical punishment of children was in the process of being drafted and he will take steps to present the relevant bill to Parliament as soon as possible. He noted such legislation was essential given that there was ample and undisputed scientific evidence that physical punishment causes enormous harm to the development of children. If children were subjected to violence from a young age, they will grow up to believe that violence is the first option to resolve problems. He pointed out that even the country’s justice system emphasises the need to supervise rather than punish juvenile offenders, so that they can be rehabilitated and released back into society. The Justice Minister further said the government intends to amend the Children and Young Persons Ordinance which dates back to 1939. “It is way outdated and I think the reform process too has been way too long, but it is in my ministry so I’ll make sure that it is expedited,” he assured.