The Hon. V.S. Radhakrishnan

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, on the eve of International Women’s Day, I am pleased to speak in this Adjournment Debate on the issues faced by women and the benefits afforded to them. Women make up about 52% of Sri Lanka’s population and, despite that, face many problems. In this period of economic development, women’s contribution is substantial.

¶ 02 First, in the apparel industry, women contribute heavily to export earnings. Second, in the plantation sector, around 44% of the workers are women, and they labor hard for the country. Third, many women go to the Middle East as migrant workers, earning vital foreign exchange. Yet, in the public or other formal employment, only about 30% are women.

¶ 03 Plantation women live in difficult conditions, often in line rooms, waking at 5.00 a.m. to prepare meals for their children and themselves before climbing the tea hills to work. There are no proper toilet or rest facilities on the estates. During Hon. Mangala Samaraweera’s tenure as Finance Minister, 10 rest rooms and 10 toilets were provided in Nuwara Eliya’s tea hills, but subsequent governments did not continue this. I kindly request the present Minister to act: without basic toilet and rest facilities, how can women work from morning till evening with dignity?

¶ 04 Housing is also a serious need. Though we say men and women are equal, women carry heavier responsibilities—raising children, schooling, and family welfare. We thank the Minister for efforts to reduce violence against women and request further strengthening. Consider also progressive measures like Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s free bus service for women—can we not introduce such schemes here?

¶ 05 I raised yesterday in Parliament with the Health Minister a serious issue at Dickoya–Glengyle Hospital, where strikes and protests in the estate region led to indignities suffered by a deceased woman. Rather than public debate alone, the Ministry should conduct an inquiry and bring out the truth.

¶ 06 Recently, in the Waltrim estate, a row of quarters caught fire, displacing 47 persons from nine families. The NBRO has removed “fire” from the category of emergency disasters, which prevents AGA offices from providing relief and lands. Fire is a disaster too; please reinstate it as such so affected citizens receive assistance.

¶ 07 Women play a crucial role in the prosperity of this nation. We now see more women represented in Parliament than before. Your service is essential to the women of this country. Thank you.