The Hon. (Mrs.) Saroja Savithri Paulraj – Minister of Women, Children and Social Empowerment
The Minister clarified that she does not appoint the Executive Director, but only forwards nominations, with selection and appointment made by the President through the President’s Office under the Women’s Empowerment Act, No. 37 of 2024. She stated that the relevant Women’s Committee is registered under her Ministry, while the Act establishes a statutory National Commission on Women to support women’s empowerment and the National Policy on Women’s Development and Empowerment.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, the appointment of the Executive Director is not a task done by me as Minister. We can only forward nominations. The selection and appointment are made through the Office of the President, by the President, under the Act. I have with me the Women’s Empowerment Act, No. 37 of 2024. The Women’s Committee referred to is a body registered under our Ministry; it is under us. On the first page itself, the Act states it is “for making provisions for the empowerment of women; for formulating and implementing the National Policy on Women’s Development and Empowerment; and for establishing a National Commission on Women.” It is a National Commission established by statute. I reiterate, it is not my appointment.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 18 February 2026 ·No. 23308 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. (Mrs.) Saroja Savithri Paulraj – Minister of Women, Children and Social Empowerment. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 18 February 2026. No. 23308. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/20282