COLOMBO : nternational Women’s Day is of great symbolic value in the continuing struggle for equal rights, justice, and the dignity of women. ‘Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls’ is the United Nations’ theme for International Women’s Day this year.
We, the Members of the National Commission on Women (NCW), consider this day to be a day on which we renew our commitment to protecting and promoting women’s rights. It is also a moment for us to provide a brief explanation about the role and functions of the NCW in the protection and promotion of women’s rights in Sri Lanka.
The NCW, which is the latest addition to the list of independent commissions in Sri Lanka, is established under the Women Empowerment Act No. 37 of 2024, a significant milestone in the legislative advancement of women’s rights protection in Sri Lanka. It was in September 2025 that the Members of the NCW were appointed by H.E. the President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, based on the recommendations of the Constitutional Council and the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus.
As an independent commission, the NCW has been mandated with wide powers to protect and promote women’s rights. These range from the power to inquire into and investigate alleged violations of women’s rights, resolving grievances through mediation, and formulating a National Policy on the advancement and empowerment of women, to advocating for women’s rights, and monitoring and evaluating the adherence to policies and practices relating to women’s rights, not only by state institutions but also by private persons and non-state institutions. We acknowledge, in this regard, that the Women Empowerment Act of 2024 and the NCW are the culmination of decades of struggle and perseverance by women’s rights collectives and organisations islandwide.
Since the appointment of the Commissioners in September 2025, the NCW has had to face many challenges, such as the absence of independent premises, the lack of staff, and the recent resignation of its first Chairperson just four months since appointment. While these challenges remain to be addressed with the support and cooperation of all relevant stakeholders, we acknowledge, with deep appreciation, all those who have helped us over the past months, in numerous ways.
There are enormous challenges that women in this country continue to face, which include, but are not limited to: the subjection of women to gender-based violence and sexual harassment, the lack of economic empowerment, the exposure to systemic injustices resulting due to discriminatory legal and institutional structures, the inadequacy of women in political and leadership positions, and the numerous gendered-vulnerabilities resulting from climate change. Therefore, there is much that needs to be done by the NCW to ensure the protection and promotion of women’s rights to equality, non-discrimination and justice.
Given this overarching context, we strongly believe that even amidst severe resource constraints, lack of staff and suitable office premises, we cannot remain silent anymore. The NCW will, therefore, commence some of the primary functions aimed at promoting and protecting women’s rights. These include:
• Conducting programmes to create awareness and disseminate information regarding women’s rights, the Women Empowerment Act of 2024, and internationally accepted laws, norms and standards relating to women’s rights;
• Undertaking research and disseminating knowledge that support the promotion and protection of women’s rights;
• Making recommendations, to the Government and the Minister of Women and Child Affairs, on: a) measures to be taken to ensure that domestic laws, policies and administrative practices are in accordance with internationally accepted norms and standards on women’s rights; and b) the formulation of laws, regulations, administrative directives and procedures required for respecting, promoting, protecting and fulfilling women’s rights;
• Assessing the impact of proposed legislative enactments, policies and practices on women’s rights and making recommendations to relevant authorities;
• Issuing public statements on critical issues and developments affecting the rights of women;
• Liaising and interacting with state institutions, non-state actors and civil society groups to foster common policies and practices which promote women’s rights; and
• Formulating a National Policy on the advancement and empowerment of women.
Due to its limited capacity, the NCW is currently unable to undertake the important and critical function of inquiring into and investigating alleged violations of women’s rights. The NCW recognizes the critical importance of its inquiry and investigative functions and is actively working towards creating the conditions required to operationalize the NCW before too long.
In conclusion, we invite all state institutions, non-state actors, civil society and the public to work collectively with us to close the justice-gap, to eliminate violence and discrimination faced by women, and to strengthen the economic empowerment of women. We honour the decades-long struggle by the women’s rights movement in Sri Lanka to secure an independent, legal and institutional mechanism for the protection and promotion of women’s rights. As Commissioners, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that the NCW will make every possible effort to create a society that upholds equal rights, dignity and justice for all women in Sri Lanka.
