COLOMBO : A group of female politicians and political activists on Tuesday,Oct. (8) demanded that women be given more opportunities in the political system, especially in terms of nominations and National List Parliament seats to achieve gender equality in the country’s governance.
During a press briefing held in Colombo, they stressed that the upcoming General/Parliamentary Elections as a good opportunity for political parties to provide such a space for women, and that it should be a priority in their efforts aimed at transforming Sri Lanka’s political culture.
Among the demands presented by them to political parties were ensuring the allocation of 50% of National List Parliamentary seats for women, appointing women to leadership positions including within party structures where women participate in decision-making as organisers and spokespersons, taking necessary steps to ensure that the Government appoints women to decision-making roles within Government structures and thereby laying the foundation for an inclusive society, Local Government (LG) and Provincial Councils (PC) Elections being held as soon as possible, and providing the 25% quota for women that is already mandated by the LG and PCs electoral laws.
Given the fact that women make up 51% of Sri Lanka’s population and 56% of its eligible voters, they noted that the country must leverage the knowledge, experience, skills, and resilience of Sri Lankan women in its governance.
During the press briefing, Parliamentary Election candidate, trade unionist and attorney-at-law Swasthika Arulingam explained that providing more opportunities for women in politics also involves fighting against various forms of obstacles that female politicians have had to face, including defamatory claims, disinformation, and online harassment. In this regard, she added, there is a great responsibility on the part of political parties and the general society which needs to be taken into consideration in the run up to the upcoming General Election.
If political parties genuinely want to initiate change as they claim, they can start it by allowing more women to enter politics through their parties, the group opined.
“As per the Global Gender Gap Index of 2021, Sri Lanka ranks 116th out of 150 countries overall and stands at 90th in terms of women’s political empowerment. This concerning trend is further highlighted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union’s global classification, which places Sri Lanka 178th out of 184 countries regarding women’s political participation as of 2021. In comparison to its South Asian neighbours, Sri Lanka lags significantly in women’s Parliamentary representation, with Bangladesh at the 98th, Nepal at the 43rd, India at the 146th, and Pakistan at the 106th places. Notably, these countries have enacted women’s quota at the Parliamentary level, contributing to the greater empowerment of women,” the group pointed out in a statement.-The Morning
