As Sri Lanka joined the world in celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8, the woman leading the charge for women’s empowerment in the country, Minister of Women and Child Affairs Saroja Savithri Paulraj took time to sit with the Sunday Observer and give her views.
A former educator with a deep commitment to improving the lives of women and girls, Minister Paulraj shared her insights into the Government’s ongoing efforts to address the unique challenges faced by women across Sri Lanka.
In the interview, she outlined various initiatives aimed to uplift women, from promoting health and well-being to supporting entrepreneurship and increasing gender representation in the workforce and politics. The Minister also highlighted the NPP’s forward-thinking vision for a more inclusive, equitable society that places women at the forefront of Sri Lanka’s future.
Excerpts of the interview
Q: What new initiatives has the Government introduced for Women’s Week from March 2 to 8?
A: Our theme for Women’s Week was “A Sustainable Future for the Nation – A Path for the Strong,” emphasising our commitment to building a better future with empowered women at the forefront. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s vision focuses on eradicating rural poverty, creating a cleaner Sri Lanka and fostering a digital economy. With this in mind, we implemented a series of programs under seven themes for seven days to uplift and support women across various sectors.
As part of our efforts to increase women’s participation in the workforce, we launched initiatives under the themes, ‘Let’s Build the Nation through Women’s Entrepreneurship’ and ‘A Skilled Workforce – A Respectable Profession’. Health and well-being were also prioritised through medical clinics and awareness campaigns under the theme ‘Healthy Women are a Strength to the Nation’. To support women entrepreneurs, we organised a Women Entrepreneurs’ Fair at the Viharamahadevi Park, Colombo, from March 5-6 while the following day focused on ‘Women’s Role in the Clean Sri Lanka Program’. Recognising the importance of strong family units, we introduced the initiative ‘Happy Family – Enjoyable Life’ to promote family well-being.
On March 7, the National Women’s Day Celebration took place at Suhurupaya, followed by a campaign on March 8 titled ‘Let’s Be Aware of Women’s Rights’, which aimed to raise awareness about emergency hotlines 1929 for child protection and 1938 for reporting violence against women. While these services have been available, awareness remains low and we hope to bridge this gap through targeted outreach. These initiatives reflect our ongoing commitment to empowering women and creating a more inclusive and progressive society.
Q: Is there a plan to expand these programs beyond Colombo and implement them in rural areas?
A: This work plan has been distributed to all Divisional Secretariats, where village-level women’s societies are functioning through the Ministry’s Women’s Bureau. The program is being implemented within these women’s organisations.
Q: What provisions have been made in this year’s Budget to support the advancement of women?
A: We have successfully achieved a major goal that we had set out to accomplish. Addressing this issue cannot be done solely with the funds allocated to the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs. There is a strong interconnection between various ministries. For instance, when it comes to preventing violence against women and children, the Ministry of Public Security plays a key role, while women’s health and nutrition are linked to the Ministry of Health. As a result, this year’s Budget has allocated a portion of the expenditure for women and children’s affairs within every ministry, something that has never been done before. This is why it is fair to call this a gender-sensitive Budget. Every mother aspires to see her child succeed in society and achieving that requires investments in education, healthcare, transportation, and other essential services for a good standard of living. Accordingly, significant funds have been allocated for these areas, ensuring that this Budget pays special attention to the needs of women and children more than ever before.
Q: The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is ‘Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities, and Equal Power’. Isn’t it a challenge to translate these ideals into reality for women in the everyday lives of our country?
A: The first thing to recognise is that Women’s Day is not merely a celebration. While Non-Governmental Organisations may have gathered women for events such as festivals or parties, this day is a victory won by women who have fought for their rights. It’s a day to honour those who have fought for better working hours, fair wages, labour rights, bodily autonomy and issues surrounding sexuality. These struggles are not things of the past; they continue to affect women today. Take wages, for example. We live in a society where women’s labour is often overlooked and exploited, where they do not receive fair compensation or basic human rights such as access to education, healthcare and transportation. A multitude of crises are interwoven in this reality. Therefore, this is not a celebration, but a day to reflect on rights and responsibilities. It is an urgent reminder of the need to empower women.
Q: Are interventions by Non-Governmental Organisations in areas such as women’s empowerment and welfare insignificant?
A: All of those intervention activities should be appreciated. However, many NGOs are often focused primarily on the flow of funding, the rights and demands of the people and their projects tend to be limited to those aspects. Particularly, if the reduction in funding from USAID impacts these organisations, it will not be a loss for us, because we are a movement that has always fought for these rights. As a nation, we aim to involve women in the country’s production process. Women in our country should have economic equality, equal access to the law, equal opportunities and equal recognition. These are fundamental and the new Government can make that a reality.
Q: Would you agree that the Sri Lankan socio-cultural and societal influences are more significant or prominent than all these other factors?
A: That’s correct. There have been significant barriers for women to enter politics in our country. People would say that women don’t understand politics that their place is at home, cooking. We still hear comments such as, “Why should women be educated further?” The impact of a society shaped by such views from childhood cannot be underestimated. On the other hand, there is also the belief that women should be protected. While this may seem positive at first glance, this outdated mindset is still prevalent. Even with initiatives aimed at women’s empowerment and welfare, this attitude persists. Welfare is necessary to rebuild a system that has been broken. What has been suppressed must be empowered. In that regard, we have, in fact, suppressed women ourselves. There is a mentality of dependence. That’s why it’s crucial to treat this group as citizens with equal rights and opportunities.
Q: The NPP intervened in that, didn’t they? Are there any positive results from it?
A: We made significant progress in changing this mindset during the election period. Specifically, we went from house-to- house, village-to-village, informing women that “women are all in the same boat,” and gathered a large number of females. We established women’s associations and empowered them with leadership roles. We formed a group of females who understood that women’s politics is more than just symbolic; it’s about making a real impact. That alone is a significant victory. We have made women a driving force capable of changing the political landscape of this country. Now, the challenge is to take them even further.
Q: The present Parliament has the highest number of women in history, yet we don’t see a similar representation in Cabinet. Why is that?
A: There are 22 women in Parliament, with 20 of them representing the NPP. The remaining two come from political families with strong political backgrounds. However, if you look at our 20 representatives, it’s clear that they come from diverse educational, ethnic and social backgrounds, with different levels of experience.
We are individuals who started in politics from grassroots level, running for district seats and being elected to Parliament. Isn’t this diversity enough? However, in a place such as the Cabinet, in addition to political experience, some administrative and professional experience is also important.
That’s why, initially, only the Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya and I are in the Cabinet with the shared goal of achieving significant progress with a small Cabinet. I am confident that in the future, as our other female MPs gain experience, Cabinet will be open for them as well.
Q: Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe once said that the quota system introduced to increase women’s representation in local Government institutions during his time as Prime Minister was a costly initiative. Will this quota system be discontinued under the present Government?
A: Generally, a quota system for women in a country may not be the ideal approach. What is needed is more active participation of women in politics, regardless of gender. There should be a focus on women’s involvement in public affairs, with an environment created where women can enter local Government, Provincial Councils and executive levels of the public service based on qualifications, without contesting. Unfortunately, we don’t have such practices or tendencies in place. Women themselves often hesitate when it comes to voting for another woman. Despite great effort and challenges, 20 women have made it to our Parliament. However, we are already seeing shameful, religious, racial and sexist smear campaigns and hateful statements targeting me, the Premier and fellow women parliamentarians.
These attacks are hindering the development of the next generation of women leaders, tiring them out from politics and creating barriers. This environment even discourages women from entering politics, even within their own families.
Therefore, until a meaningful discussion takes place and a solid foundation is established, women should be given the opportunity to be elected to public representative bodies, whether through a quota system or some other means.
Although, the quota system may not be perfect, it remains the best option for now. Even in African countries, women’s representation is at commendable levels. I recently read that, in a country such as Turkey, there are around 66 women in Parliament. In Bangladesh, the representation of women is higher than in Sri Lanka. Therefore, we are committed to advancing women’s representation through the quota system in the upcoming local Government elections. The funds allocated for this are not a waste; they are an investment in the future to uplift a society that has been marginalised and empower it.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to add in conclusion?
A: To all women across Sri Lanka, including widows struggling with their children, our message is clear. You must be strong. You are human beings not second-class citizens. Today, there is a Government in this country committed to providing women with a healthy and dignified life. We urge you to join us in this journey of social transformation for the future prosperity of your children.
