COLOMBO ; China has demonstrated strong commitment and global leadership in advancing women’s rights and gender equality through concrete actions such as hosting the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women, said Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua at the Sri Lankan parliament ahead of her visit to China for the summit in Beijing, Amarasuriya said the event will boost confidence in the global cause of women’s development.
“Beijing hosted an extremely important summit on women’s development and on women and gender 30 years ago. What was discussed then holds true even now,” she said, deeming it “really significant” that Beijing once again hosts a summit focused on women’s development after three decades.
“It’s really important that we remind the world of the importance of taking into consideration women’s issues when it comes to development or anything else,” she added.
Unequal access to economic opportunities, she said, remains a major barrier to women’s progress. In some developing countries, women still face low wages, informal employment, and limited social protection, leading to the persistent undervaluation of their contributions.
“This situation impacts women’s ability to participate as full citizens,” she said. “To achieve genuine changes, we need to bring about structural changes that give women access to the economy, education and health systems, and ensure women’s substantive participation in the decision-making process.”
On China’s achievements, Amarasuriya said that Chinese women today are more confident, independent and active in public life. “With that comes then higher levels of freedom as well,” she said, describing this as China’s unique contribution to global women’s empowerment.
She noted that China’s political and economic systems allow it to address systemic inequalities and reduce marginalization. “China has made real advances in empowering women economically. It continues to support women and is also willing to take global leadership on these issues,” she said.
Amarasuriya said Sri Lanka and China enjoy broad prospects for cooperation in advancing women’s empowerment and gender equality.
“There are strong female leaders in China, and Sri Lanka has a historic number of women in parliament this year,” she said. “On issues like education and health, which directly affect women’s and children’s wellbeing, there’s a lot of scope for our collaboration.”
She also thanked China for its assistance in providing school uniform fabric to Sri Lanka, which is a “tremendous gift” from the Chinese people. “We deeply appreciate it,” she said.
Looking ahead to the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women, Amarasuriya said she is full of expectations.
“It will be my first opportunity to take part in a global summit centered on women,” she said, adding that meeting and sharing experiences with female leaders from around the world will be deeply meaningful.
“I believe this summit will be very useful for us as a reflection of the last 30 years and how we need to move forward,” she said. “We hope to send a clear message through this meeting that women still need to be counted, and women still need to be prioritized in our political and development agendas.”
Source: Xinhua
