Unveiling SamaTheevu- An Island where Equality Thrives

To commemorate International Women’s Day and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, UN Women Sri Lanka launched a public installation titled ‘SamaTheevu – An Island where Equality Thrives’ on March 6. The event took place at the Lionel Wendt Art Centre, Colombo 07 in order to shed light on gender disparities in Sri Lanka, aiming to inspire action to accelerate progress on gender equality in the country.  

Creating a gender equal world is a goal that remains urgent and achievable with collective action. UN Women Sri Lanka states that the country has long demonstrated its commitment to gender equality. In 1981, Sri Lanka ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), reinforcing its commitment to protecting the rights of women. Building on this, in 1995, Sri Lanka joined 189 other countries in adopting the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action at the Fourth World Conference on Women. Despite some progress, women’s labour force participation in Sri Lanka has stagnated and regressed between 2020 and 2025. The proportion of women in parliament has remained below 10% in the 77 years since Sri Lanka’s independence, and 24% of women have experienced physical or sexual violence by their intimate partner. In 2006, Sri Lanka took 13th place in closing the gender gap, whereas in 2024, it stood at 122nd place.   
Despite certain advancements in the present context, progress has been slow. Legal reforms and policy frameworks to address issues that affect women are crucial. During his speech, Hon. Dr. Namal Sudarshana, Deputy Minister of Women and Child Affairs said, “The Government budget has allocated funds for programmes that empower women, providing loan schemes for women, strengthening female economic participation, and eliminating Gender based violence. This underscores the Government’s commitment to fostering an environment where women are protected and provided with equal opportunities to contribute to Sri Lanka’s social and economic development.”  
Marc-André Franche, Resident Coordinator of the UN in Sri Lanka, emphasised that this month marks 30 years of progress with the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which not only reaffirmed the rights of women but also transformed our collective action framework to achieve those rights. Since then, women and girls have shattered barriers to fight stereotypes and harmful gender norms and demanded their rightful place as equal participants and contributors to society. However, complete gender equality remains an elusive objective in many countries, including Sri Lanka, where we still continue to witness injustices. Women face discrimination, harassment and under-representation in politics, businesses and across decision-making spaces. He said that urgent and concrete action must be taken—closing the gender pay gap, strengthening or implementing laws to end all forms of violence faced by women and ensuring equal participation of women in decision-making is essential.   

Furthermore, Emeritus Professor of Law, Savitri Goonesekere remarked “It is time to reflect on past developments relating to gender equality and to address new realities. Activists and women’s groups must comprehend the trends, failures and gaps as they formulate new interventions to realise gender equality.” She further highlighted that the development of a nation cannot be achieved without equality.   
The interactive installation offers a glimpse into an island where everyone, regardless of gender has equal rights and opportunities in all aspects of life, challenging all forms of violence, discrimination and exploitation. It serves as a powerful reminder that gender equality is not only a fundamental human right but also a driver of social and economic progress. 

The installation is open to the public from 6 - 12 March from 9.00am – 8.00pm at the Lionel Wendt, Art Centre, Colombo 07