The Hon. (Dr.) (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne - Deputy Minister of Mass Media

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am grateful for the opportunity to speak.

¶ 02 Marking International Women’s Day 2026 and recognizing women’s labour contributions to a gender-responsive economy, we have submitted, as an Adjournment Motion, a proposal to “formulate a National Care Policy” to integrate unpaid care work into the national economy. Introducing such a National Care Policy is a key undertaking we have treated as important since our campaign and policy platform “A Prosperous Country - A Beautiful Life,” where we discussed how to count unpaid care work in the national economy. Honouring that pledge, we have drafted a national policy and commenced a long-term process to establish a programme of action.

¶ 03 Already, across our governance and economic activities, we have not ignored women’s contributions and care work. In the first Budget debate after we assumed office, the Hon. Deputy Minister of Finance explicitly recognized unpaid care work. When we consider unpaid care, we must understand both production and social reproduction. As feminist scholar Maria Mies observed, what we see as production is only the tip of the iceberg; beneath it lies vast, unpaid care work. The ILO’s “3R” approach—recognize, reduce and redistribute—guides us.

¶ 04 As Deputy Minister of Mass Media, I wish to address “Media and Women” under two areas: - How women are represented in media: often commodified or cast solely as victims. The challenge is to portray women’s active roles while adhering to ethical standards. - The status of women within the media industry itself, including online spaces, where women—especially visible, talented women journalists—face inhuman, abusive attacks. We witnessed such cases recently.

¶ 05 Regrettably, despite calls here today to respect women, some Opposition Members used crude language that demeaned women and this House. That must be noted.

¶ 06 Second, we must ask how far women can progress within the media industry. While many women work in the field and write, the numbers thin at decision-making levels. Movements such as #MeToo began by exposing violence inside newsrooms. In Sri Lanka, too, issues surface in different forms. What are we doing? - Establishing an Independent Media Commission: discussions are underway to create a body that can view and address media from within, including representation and ethics. - Professionalizing and protecting media workers: we have finalized the framework to establish the Chartered Institute of Media Professionals and will soon submit the Cabinet memorandum. This will set standards, build capacity and protect rights of journalists—women and men.

¶ 07 Recently we heard the “Mawbima” newspaper may close, risking over 50 jobs, with reports of unpaid salaries and EPF/ETF. The Government Information Department has sought labour consultations. As a government, when an industry falters, we still have a duty to safeguard media workers’ rights.

¶ 08 Capacity building: We have allocated Rs. 104 million this year to strengthen skills of media workers across public and private sectors, including: - Ethical reporting - Disaster reporting and post-conflict/post-disaster reporting - Technical reporting and improving technical competencies

¶ 09 We are also exploring an insurance scheme for journalists, with initial discussions underway.

¶ 10 The National Care Policy will be a primary step to recognize unpaid care work. We will learn from international experiences.