The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna

¶ 01 [10.22 a.m.]

¶ 02 Hon. Chairman, I move that, as per tradition, under Heads 171 and 217 pertaining to the Ministry under debate today, i.e., Saturday 2025.03.08, and its Departments, all Recurrent and Capital Expenditure under each Programme be reduced by Rs. 10.

¶ 03 Hon. Chairman, Hon. Prime Minister, Hon. Paulraj, Hon. Minister, today is International Women’s Day; it is our day. A lot of time of this Hon. House was spent this morning. This is our biggest problem. In the world of men, “woman” is seen as very small. That is the reality.

¶ 04 Hon. Prime Minister, today is International Women’s Day. I extend my greetings to the Hon. Prime Minister visible to me, the Minister of Women and Child Affairs, to the 22 women MPs—the highest representation in the history of this Parliament—to all women in the galleries, to all women and girls beyond my sight. I pray that they may have a life where their rights are protected, equality is a reality, and they are empowered mentally, physically, socially and economically. Each year we extend wishes, but we have a problem as to whether what we keep speaking about is moving forward.

¶ 05 This year’s Sri Lanka theme is “A Sustainable Tomorrow - A Path Where She Is Empowered.” The international theme is “Accelerate Action.” That is, to accelerate action for protecting the rights of all women and girls, for achieving equality, and for empowerment. We must accelerate all actions for that.

¶ 06 We have been speaking for years about women’s wellbeing. Whatever the origins of International Women’s Day, in 1975 the United Nations officially recognized it. The theme then was “Celebrating the Past, Planning the Future.”

¶ 07 Historically, from the first revolution in 1857 by factory women, we have made this a reality.

¶ 08 We honour the past and those who stood up, living and departed, on behalf of this cause. But we must question whether we place flowers on the past and stones on the present while failing to plan the future.

¶ 09 The true causes of the problems women face are not within women. Domestic violence happens everywhere regardless of nation or religion. The woman suffers not because of herself, but because of the perpetrator.

¶ 10 There is a song by Amarasiri Peiris, lyrics by Ranbanda Seneviratne: “The baby bears blame for the sins of men.” That is apt here. In our country many girls cannot afford sanitary pads; about 50 to 60 per cent do not attend school during menstruation. That is not the girls’ fault; it is the fault of the law-makers. The teacher who was assaulted recently suffered due to a man unable to control his impulse—not the teacher’s fault. Women are 64.8 per cent of graduates, yet female labour force participation is only 32.1 per cent.

¶ 11 Order, please!