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Saturday, 13 July 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Via a statement issued by WMC Executive Director Dr. Sepali Kottegoda, they alleged that the latest such remarks were made by several Parliamentarians at the Conference of the Sri Lanka Women Parliamentarian’s Caucus held in Parliament on 10 July 2013.
As per their statement, the Speaker of Parliament, Chamal Rajapaksa in his speech, remarked that when women are appointed to important positions, nothing can be achieved as they do not listen to anyone. He was followed by Tissa Karaliyadde, Minister for Child Development and Women’s Affairs, who reiterated his sentiments on women in decision making positions, by claiming that women are not able to perform their duties fairly because of jealousy of other women.
WMC said Karaliyadde had in previous months also proclaimed at public gatherings that women should not be made chairpersons of any institutions as they are not capable of holding such offices.
Ven. Athuraliya Rathana Thero proposed that it is men with sensitivity to women’s issues who should be in Parliament, not women. “It is ironic that at the inauguration of the first conference of the Women Parliamentarian’s Caucus to launch its Action Plan, most of the male parliamentarians invited to speak were not prepared to acknowledge the socio-cultural and economic factors that marginalise the majority of women from reaching decision making positions in the country, despite the fact that women have held positions of Prime Minister and the office of President,” WMC said.
“On a previous occasion, Parliamentarian and Minister of Transport Kumara Welegama’s unacceptable, offensive sexist remarks to Parliamentarian Rosy Senanayake were received with patent acceptance by most present in the house. There was no recrimination of his conduct by a single member, even when Senanayake pointed out that she found his remarks insulting.
WMC said that for over four decades, Sri Lanka has positioned itself as a country that recognises prevailing norms and practices that discriminate against women despite achieving high social development indicators.
Sri Lanka has set up State institutions such as the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, the National Committee on Women and the Women’s Bureau. It has drafted a National Action Plan on Women, instituted legislation to criminalisation of Sexual Harassment Act and, passed the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, all acts that clearly recognise the need to address gender based discrimination. Sri Lanka has ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1981 and adopted the Beijing Platform for Action on Women, following the UN Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995.
The Women Parliamentarians Caucus has built on these achievements and, with the formal support of Parliament, developed a National Action Plan where actions are proposed to amend or repeal laws that continue to discriminate against women, to increase women’s representation in political institutions and, to take into consideration the provisions of the National Human Rights Action Plan and all relevant UN Conventions ratified by the Government for the protecting the rights of women of women, emphasising the specific issues of women affected by disaster and recovering from conflict.
“We demand that all parliamentarians, including the Speaker, take note and give due respect to the issues that the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus has raised and refrain from making any further statements that are disparaging to the women of this country. We call on these individuals who are elected representatives to show humility in admitting their lack of knowledge and understanding of the basic principles of a civilised society. Such a declaration would provide an opening for the country to showcase mature and informed leaders worthy of governing and leading the country in the decades to come,” the WMC statement said.
