Are women anymore a priority for the incumbent government?

The number of victims of domestic violence is on the rise every year with over 100,000 complaints received by the Women’s and Children’s Bureau by the end of 2024

Despite having as many as 21 female MPs in Parliament, the incumbent government has come under scrutiny for not condemning insults directed at fellow Parliamentarians in the House. Recently, a commotion erupted in Parliament when Deputy Minister of Vocational Training MP Nalin Hewage announced that an individual by the name Rohini Kaviratne had changed her name to Rohini Lamarathna and that it had appeared on papers. Subsequently, Opposition MP Dr. Harsha De Silva raised a point of order stating that the MP had insulted Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Rohini Kaviratne and that nobody could insult a fellow MP as per standing orders. 

Following the incident, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and NPP MP Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne condemned the remarks made by MP Hewage. In a Facebook post, Dr. Ariyaratne said that the remarks made by MP Hewage were inappropriate and unacceptable, particularly considering the language used by an MP towards a female opposition MP in Parliament. Responding to the incident, PM Dr. Amarasuriya said that even if the government makes mistakes, they take responsibility and work to correct them. She said that the government wouldn’t condone such actions and that they wouldn’t justify wrongdoing simply because it involves their own members. 

During the Presidential Election campaign and the Parliamentary Election, many female supporters of the incumbent government held mega rallies across the country. The government’s initiative to address female engagement in politics was brought to fruition through its ‘Gahanu Api Eka Mitata’ (translated to ‘We, women, profusely for NPP’) campaign. But it is too early to comment on whether this solidarity among the female candidates could be maintained until their term of office ends.  

During the previous government, the establishment of a National Commission on Women was on the cards to ensure the rights of women and protect women from discrimination based on gender and violence against them. The commission will be vested with powers to inquire into and investigate the infringement or imminent infringement of women’s rights and receive complaints from the public. In addition, the commission can also intervene in any proceedings relating to the infringement or imminent infringement of women’s rights, pending before any court with the permission of such court, according to the bill. 

The government also declared a National Women’s Week in view of Women’s Day from March 2 – 8 to implement programmes on women’s health, awareness, safety, empowerment and technological skills development. But whether such programmes would address issues faced by women remains a doubt. The number of victims of domestic violence is on the rise every year with over 100,000 complaints received by the Women’s and Children’s Bureau by the end of 2024. Incidents of domestic violence continues in many underserved settlements and many of them go unreported. According to the UNFPA, one in four women in Sri Lanka have experienced sexual and/or physical violence since the age of 15. 

On the other hand, the current government’s first engagement with a UN treaty body reporting process was for the UN Committee on the Elimination and Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Sri Lanka’s obligations under the CEDAW was reviewed by a committee made up of 23 independent experts on women’s rights from different parts of the world. Since Sri Lanka ratified the treaty in 1981, the CEDAW review allowed the Committee to question and evaluate whether the government has implemented and kept its promises in protecting women from discrimination. This was Sri Lanka’s 9th periodic reporting to the CEDAW Committee, which was delayed due to COVID-19 after its last review in 2017. While the experts praised Sri Lanka’s national action plan on women, peace and security it raised questions regarding the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act which permits for child marriage and domestic violence. 

Sri Lanka’s major sources of income including the apparels sector, tea industry and foreign remittances depend on the revenue generated by a majority of women employed in these sectors. They sacrifice their blood and sweat to bring the much-needed dollars into the country. But the fact that women continue to be insulted, discriminated and bullied at the Parliament - the place where they have to uphold law and order, is a pathetic state of affairs.