Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I request Members not to interrupt my time. First, I thank the people of Kaduwela and Colombo District for sending me here. I also honour all young women and men who sacrificed their lives for a better society, and the thousands of grassroots comrades who worked without positions or privileges.

¶ 02 It is meaningful to deliver my maiden speech during the UN’s “Orange the World” 16 Days of Activism. For a decade I raised my voice outside; today I can work inside Parliament to change what I decried. It pains me that I must say this before Members who enabled the policies that harmed women and children.

¶ 03 Citing data the Hon. Anil Jayantha mentioned when opening the debate on the 2025 Vote on Account, 39.2 percent of wage earners are women. Our policy centralizes women’s labour and unpaid care work in the national economy. Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange is largely earned by women: garment workers, plantation workers, and migrant domestic workers. Yet what do they receive in return? According to the Central Bank, in 2024 Q1 workers’ remittances were USD 1,536.18 million, mainly from Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, where most of our women are unskilled domestic workers from poor rural areas. Over the past two months I have received many calls about their hardships—job loss, abuse, running away—often without support from our missions.

¶ 04 In 2023, tea exports yielded USD 1.31 billion; 65 percent of plantation workers are women who for 200 years have survived on two roti a day. We do not drink tea; we drink their blood.

¶ 05 Yesterday an Opposition MP said even if they shout, the Government cannot increase wages or give houses. I regret that. If you care about estate workers, then support the reforms we will bring to uplift real working people, not elites.

¶ 06 In apparel, about 7 percent of GDP and 78 percent of workers are women, working 16–17 hour days, with a basic wage of Rs. 16,000, forced overtime, weekends, with no security and facing sexual harassment. During Covid, they were deemed essential; what life do they now have?

¶ 07 A 2023 UN report says globally 140 women and girls are killed by intimate partners or family members each day—over 51,000 a year. Sri Lanka is no exception. Though we boast of the world’s first woman Prime Minister and high female literacy, our Gender Inequality Index is 0.383; we rank 92 of 170. We should be ashamed.

¶ 08 Post-pandemic and amidst economic collapse, women and gender minorities suffered disproportionately. Police recorded over 25,000 domestic violence complaints in 2023; 1,865 rape cases in 2023; 1,588 up to October 2024—only the reported cases.

¶ 09 Our lawyer MPs receive daily calls about violence against women—by intimate partners, and sexual violence. There is inadequate legal protection.

¶ 10 The DCS says 3.2 percent of the population live below the poverty line (monthly income under Rs. 4,830). Our policy recognizes women’s issues as a reflection of a broader socio-political and economic crisis. Problems are intersectional—class, caste, ethnicity, religion, disability, and gender identity/sexual orientation overlap. We pledge laws ensuring no identity becomes a ground for violence or discrimination.

¶ 11 For three decades Muslim women have sought reform of the Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act; successive governments ignored them. Women escaping economic hardship fell into predatory microfinance traps; over 150 took their own lives. Laws brought protected the finance companies, not women—some paid interest at 220 percent.

¶ 12 IMF conditionalities agreed by Ranil Wickremesinghe harmed women and vulnerable groups. We propose, for the next Budget, removing the 18 percent VAT on essential goods imposed under those policies. Our central aim is women’s economic empowerment; without economic justice, there is no equality. We will also pursue broad legal reforms, including criminal law amendments and widening the fundamental rights chapter in a new Constitution.

¶ 13 This is the fourth day of this Parliamentary week. Twenty-two women have entered Parliament; 20 represent our party. They are not dynasts but grassroots leaders. In 2018 I saw a Parliament marred by chilli powder and chaos. I wrote then:

¶ 14 “When so-called senior members of parliament resort to fight and disruptions instead of engaging in meaningful political arguments, they tarnish the dignity of parliament. This supreme political space, meant to symbolize democracy and aspirations of the people, has long been dominated by a masculine ethos rooted in aggression and physical strength... It is a painful reflection of how much further we need to go to create a feminist, inclusive and egalitarian political culture.”

¶ 15 Women’s politics is not merely bringing 20 women into the Chamber; it is qualitative transformation in and outside Parliament. Over the past four days, 40 percent of Opposition interventions were about rice, 40 percent about coconuts, and the rest asking whether we are sectarian. We must aim higher.

¶ 16 We tabled the Vote on Account. For a good political culture, the public rejected your old ways and sent 162 new faces. I request the Opposition to present arguments with discipline and maturity, not reduce Parliament to a brawl.

¶ 17 We 159 Members arrived as part of a people’s movement. This is not an individual journey. Millions work without seeking profit. We are here because of their tears and toil. Treat this seriously. Do not think you can topple this Government by coming in for five minutes to disturb proceedings. We will lead with dedication and restraint, as we did over the last five years.