The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education

¶ 01 [11.38 a.m.]

¶ 02 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I am pleased to speak on this Adjournment Motion, presented by the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, on a “National Care Policy.” Six years ago, in my maiden speech here, I spoke about the care economy. Then, only a few of us were present, and the topic felt novel inside this Chamber. Today, we have a stronger group in and outside Parliament championing this theme — developed to the point of a national policy proposal. This is very encouraging, especially as it is brought by the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus. If we can realize this within this year, it will be a major achievement.

¶ 03 There is great attention on women’s participation in politics, in part because representation has increased — not only in Parliament but also in local bodies, community organizations, the public service, and education. This offers an opportunity to bring a decisive, essential subject like the care economy to the fore and advance it to a national policy.

¶ 04 A core reason for women entering politics is to safeguard and advocate for women’s rights, as historically women have lacked equal rights and faced obstacles in many spheres — economic, cultural, educational. Even with recent improvements, representation is still insufficient. In every sector — political, economic, cultural — women’s participation is relatively lower or clustered in lower-valued roles. Anyone committed to equality, justice, and fairness recognizes this as a problem and sees the need to intervene from a women’s political perspective.

¶ 05 A widely accepted point is that unpaid care work is a major barrier to women’s equal participation. If we accept that women, as citizens, have the right to participate equally and with dignity as they wish, we must identify and remove the main barriers they face. Hence, the care economy: valuing unpaid care work, reorganizing it, and focusing on the public facilities and infrastructure necessary.

¶ 06 That is why a National Care Policy is important — as a pivotal element in enabling a safer, more secure economy with women participating fully as citizens. We must see this not only as policy or legislation but as a structural transformation across society — complex and long-term — requiring coordinated policy-making, law-making, financing, and attitudinal change.

¶ 07 Care work sustains the economy and requires support, regulation, reorganization, and redistribution so that it is not the sole responsibility of an individual or one side. We must value both paid and unpaid care work, recognizing how much society relies on the latter.

¶ 08 Practically, we must accept care work as a social responsibility beyond just private duty. Childcare, sustaining families, care for elders, people with disabilities, and the sick must be framed as social responsibilities, which then justifies public intervention and infrastructure.

¶ 09 Transport is a key example — making it safer and more efficient both relates to and supports the care economy. In education, we must reduce the burden on homes — homework, extra classes — and ensure access so that education does not overload families, but is supported via care centres, protection, and necessary provisions such as meals, books, shoes, and uniforms, recognized as public needs and infrastructure. We are acting accordingly.

¶ 10 Similarly, establishing childcare and eldercare centres, affirming the rights of persons with disabilities to live independently — all can be advanced within a Care Policy. Though much remains to be done, we are moving in the right direction.

¶ 11 As attention on women’s politics grows, media and social media behavior must be respectful of women’s leadership and ensure safety. These are not matters addressed by law alone; they require broader social change. Political focus must be on how to guide that transformation — to create a society where women and all who deserve justice and fairness can live safely, with dignity, and participate equally as citizens.

¶ 12 A National Care Policy is critical in that journey. I thank the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, Hon. Samanmali Gunasingha for the Motion, and Hon. Rohini Kumari Wijerathna for seconding. Thank you, Hon. Deputy Speaker, for the time.