GR pledges to fight violence against women

• Promises equal rights for disabled people
• Pledges to bring down cost-of-living with relief package

By Nuwan Senarathna

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) presidential candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday pledged to create a safe environment for women and uphold equal rights for people with disabilities.

Addressing an election rally in Galagedara, Rajapaksa said if elected, he would put an end to violence against women. He pledged to create an environment where women could live with dignity, and engage in daily life without being subject to any form of discrimination.

“I can assure that we have paid special attention to women and to uphold their rights. Whenever I meet them when I travel across the country, they ask only one thing. That is to ensure security in the country. They want a safe country that they can live peacefully,” Rajapaksa said.

Rajapaksa noted women’s biggest concern was the safety of their family members. According to Rajapaksa, women worry about the safety of their husbands and children who go off to work and school. He assured that he would create a secure country for all, so that women would not have to worry about the safety of their husbands and children.

He also argued the cost of living had affected women more than men, as they were in charge of managing most of the households in the country. Rajapaksa argued economic development and bringing down the cost of living would directly ease pressure on women.

“People are suffering due to the high cost of living. As a solution, we will introduce a relief package soon. We also expect to introduce people-centric policies, and hope that will financially stabilise every citizen in the country.”

Referring to upholding equal rights for people with disabilities, Rajapaksa said he would implement the international protocols which uphold the rights of disabled people. He pointed out that if the country wishes to attain development goals, upholding equal rights was an essential element.

“It was us who created pavements in Colombo which have special features for the differently-abled. They should also have equal privileges as the other citizens in education when seeking employment and voting,” he said.