A meeting to discuss the Action Plan of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus was held recently (Feb 07) under the patronage of Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and the Chairperson of the Caucus, Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Savitri Paulraj.

According to a Parliament statement, the Caucus discussed the possibility of enhancing women’s representation by achieving 25% women’s representation at the Provincial Level. Accordingly, the Caucus looked at the mechanisms of bringing in amendments to the prevailing law for the implementation of the said proposal at the upcoming election.

The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus also decided to meet with various political parties and party secretaries to demand the appointment of women and increase female representation in the Provincial and Local Government bodies.

Moreover, matters such as the elimination of sexual harassment at the workplace and the elimination of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) were also taken into consideration. 

During the meeting, plans to mark International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8th, were also discussed.

Deputy Co-Chairpersons of the Caucus Members of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella, Samanmali Gunasinghe, Rohini Kumari Wijerathna, Geetha Herath, Sagarika Athauda, Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Oshani Umanga, Krishnan Kalaichelvi, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, M.A.C.S. Chathuri Gangani, Nilusha Lakmali Gamage, A.M.M.M. Rathwaththe, Deepthi Wasalage, Hiruni Wijesinghe, Ambika Samivel and Lakmali Hemachandra participated in the meeting. (Newswire)

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The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus (WPC) and the Parliamentary Caucus for the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PCIPD) have condemned an incident reported at the Sethsiripaya where a woman with disabilities was obstructed from utilising her transportation services to leave the premises.

Condemning the incident in a joint statement, the WPC and PCIPD said the woman with disabilities was obstructed from utilising her transportation services to leave the Sethsiripaya premises on April 05, while she had also been informed that vehicle access was exclusively reserved for VIPs.

It has been brought to our notice that the language used by the relevant Security Officers has been highly insensitive, disrespectful and hurtful. The aforementioned incident occurred while she was an invited speaker in a workshop aimed at raising awareness about the inclusion of persons with disabilities, which was organised by the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs.

Persons with disabilities makeup 9% of Sri Lanka’s population and often face discrimination and harassment in various spheres when they access different services, carry out their activities of daily living, and participate in their communities. Persons with disabilities also often experience difficulties due to the lack of necessary infrastructure and necessary provisions such as sign language interpretation, disability-friendly educational and employment facilities, and accessible transport, they said. 

The WPC and PCIPD pointed out that Sri Lanka ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in 2016, undertaking the responsibility to “promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities (people living with disabilities), and to promote respect for their inherent dignity”. The Sri Lankan Constitution also guarantees the right to equal access to shops, public restaurants, hotels, places of public entertainment and places of public worship of his own religion, regardless of race, religion, language, caste, sex or disability (Article 12 (3)). Therefore, the Government of Sri Lanka is obliged to ensure that persons with disabilities have comfortable access to all public buildings.

Moreover, the Constitution further states that special provisions can be made by law, subordinate legislation or executive action, for the advancement of women, children or disabled persons (Article 12 (4)). As such, Sri Lanka must uphold her promises for the advancement of the welfare of persons with disabilities, and strive to ensure that their rights are protected.

Stating that this incident highlights the intersectionality of discrimination and obstacles encountered by persons due to multiple identities, they said the individual concerned here is a woman with a disability rendering her particularly vulnerable to daily challenges and that therefore, it is incumbent upon the Government to factor in all these circumstances and strive to alleviate some of their burdens.

The National Secretariat for Persons with Disabilities, the Passport Office and many more Government services are regularly accessed by persons with disabilities. Since the security services to the Government offices in Battaramulla are the primary responsibility of the Urban Development Authority (UDA), we also urge the UDA to take necessary action to, inter alia, sensitise and educate the Security Officers on inclusive treatment and the use of inclusive language when dealing with women and persons with disabilities. 

It is our responsibility as Sri Lankan citizens to ensure incidents like this do not occur in the future. As the WPC and the PCIPD, we strongly urge that the staff of Sethsiripaya (and other public spaces) be appropriately sensitised and informed about the rights of persons with disabilities. Moreover, we particularly urge Government officers to be aware and informed of the needs of persons with disabilities and to anticipate and make necessary provisions when conducting any future programs, the two Parliamentary Caucus’ added. (Newswire)

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The main Opposition, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has called on the government to review the proposed amendments to the Penal Code related to sexual offences against women.

Addressing the Parliament today, Opposition and SJB Leader MP Sajith Premadasa requested the government to consider revising the proposal to lower the age of capacity to consent to sex from 16 years to 14 years for female minors.

As per the current laws, the Penal Code as amended in 1995 gives the age of 16 years as the age threshold of capacity of a minor under 18 years to give consent to sex.

The Opposition Leader pointed out that there were objections from women-led societies in Sri Lanka over the said proposed amendments to the Penal Code and that the government must consider revising certain amendments. 

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus has also called for the withdrawal of the Amendments to Chapter 19 of the Penal Code.

In a letter to the Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus requested that the bill gazetted on February 9, 2024, be withdrawn immediately.

The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus said that according to the amendments made to the Penal Code in 1995, even if a girl under 16 years of age has sexual relations of her own free will, it is considered rape.

The Parliamentary group pointed out that, however, the current proposed amendment to the Penal Code by the Minister of Justice proposed to further lower the age limit to 14 years.

Chair of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, MP Sudarshini Fernandopulle expressed deep concern about the proposed amendment to the said law, Section 364, of the Penal Code and called for its withdrawal.

“It is also requested on behalf of the Caucus to prioritise the protection of women and children and uphold justice for vulnerable populations in Sri Lanka,” she said. 

In her letter, MP Fernandopulle further informed that her Caucus is ready to discuss further information or alternative proposals in this regard at any time. (NewsWire)

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Gender perspectives should be integrated into the budgetary process to promote gender equality and social inclusivity as women’s participation in the formal labour force in Sri Lanka has traditionally been lower than that of men, the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus was informed. 

The comment was made when the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus met recently (Feb 08) in Parliament under the Chairmanship of State Minister (Dr.) (Mrs.) Seetha Arambepola in the first phase and (Dr.) (Mrs.) Sudarshini Fernandopulle during the second phase.

According to a Parliament statement, the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus met to further discuss matters with the relevant stakeholders to discuss the proposed gender-responsive budgeting Bill. 

Accordingly, it was agreed that a framework should be developed for incorporating gender considerations into budget formulation, implementation, and evaluation and to establish monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to track the impact of gender budgeting initiatives.

Furthermore, the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus also took into discussion strategizing the 25% quota for women’s representation in Parliament. Accordingly, the Caucus was of the view that a strategy should be put in place to change the societal perception of women in leadership. The Caucus also acknowledged the importance of working towards championing 25% or more female representation in Parliament and mobilizing women, who constitute 50% of the country’s population for this task.

In the third phase of discussions held, the Caucus took into discussion allowing mothers with children of 2-5 years of age to migrate to work.

State Minister (Mrs.) Geetha Kumarasinghe and Members of Parliament (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari, (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, (Mrs.) Manjula Dissanayake and (Mrs.) Kokila Gunawardene were present at the Committee meeting. (NewsWire)

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