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March 8, is marked the world over as International Women’s day.

While the day is commemorated as symbolic of the gender inequality that exists world over and the need to highlight the importance of empowering women who lag behind in many sectors of life. Events are arranged on this day in Sri Lanka as well in order to emphasise the need to close the gender gap which exists in the country.

As President Ranil Wickremesinghe remarked at the National Celebration of international Women’s Day last week “In celebrating International Women’s Day, the usual practice in our country is to hold a ceremony, discuss women’s rights and return home. This routine occurs every year.”  

The President pledged that this year, however, the Government would introduce legislation to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. He revealed plans to introduce two significant bills aimed at advancing gender equality and empowering women, both of which would be presented to Parliament in May.

According to the President a new Women’s Empowerment Act would result in the establishment of a separate commission whose primary objective will be to facilitate the advancement and empowerment of women by implementing mechanisms to protect their rights. The Bill has already been gazetted on March 7.

He also announced that a bill focusing on gender equality, aimed at securing women’s rights, will be published in the Gazette next week. This bill would seek to establish principles of gender equality across various sectors, including social, political, economic, cultural and technical policies, while also providing the necessary infrastructure to support these principles.

While traditionally celebration of International Women’s Day focuses on high achievers in various fields and their success stories despite the obstacles in their paths, progress in such fields does not adequately reflect the national efforts to bridge the gender gap.

Women still contribute in large measure to the economy of the country although the State does not give recognition to such contributions in sufficient measure. Foreign remittances which are in large measure contributed by women working in the Gulf, was at one time, equal to the money being spent by the Government to prosecute the war effort during the armed conflict. To describe it in another way it was the women working abroad, largely from the poor and marginalized sector, who funded the State’s war effort at that time.

Today the situation is not very much different with the remittances from the workforce from abroad helping to keep the economy afloat.

The Garment sector is the other sector in which women contribute to the economy working under trying conditions. The workers in the Plantation sector, again comprising largely women, work for a pittance of a salary but make a substantial contribution to the economy.

Although the difficulties experienced by women in these sectors are not purely as a result of discrimination directed against them. They rather relate to social justice issues but it is the women who feel the impact the most.

The Minister of State for Women and Children’s Affairs Geetha Kumarasinghe too has emphasized the significant contribution of women to the economy and society.

“Women play the most pivotal role in the world, deserving respect and empowerment every day of the year, not confined to a single day. Strengthening the economy is crucial to enabling women to stand independently.”

Referring to the fact that women constitute the majority of students in the universities she pointed out that after completing their education, many women’s journeys come to a halt upon marriage and motherhood. The State Minister underlined the invaluable role of motherhood but said it should not limit women’s potential.

She also said that it is noteworthy that women are significant contributors to our country’s economy, earning foreign exchange and making substantial contributions to industries such as agriculture and garment manufacturing.

The State Minister also drew attention to the fact that despite comprising 52% of the population, women’s political representation remained dismally low, with only 6% contributing to politics and a mere 13 women holding seats in Parliament. This disparity must be addressed to harness the transformative potential of women in shaping the country’s politics and economy she said.

While the importance of women’s role in shaping and influencing policy cannot be denied it is important to understand that women can be encouraged to take on such roles only if the environment for such participation is made conducive to them.

Empowering women requires them to be provided with equal opportunities to pursue their choices. Equal opportunities would require adequate safeguards and safe spaces for the women to reach their full potential and must encompass all sectors of society including that of the
poor and marginalized.

 (javidyusuf@gmail.com).