The Hon. Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, I extend my Women’s Day greetings to the Hon. Prime Minister, the Minister of Women and Child Affairs, 22 women Members of Parliament, and all women. In this Committee Stage debate on the Votes of the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, I wish to place views regarding women and children.

¶ 02 Sri Lanka has the distinction of electing the world’s first woman Prime Minister. While India had Hon. Indira Gandhi, Israel had Hon. Golda Meir, and the United Kingdom had Hon. Margaret Thatcher as Prime Ministers, all followed the election of Hon. Sirimavo Bandaranaike here. We can be proud of that.

¶ 03 Today, women’s participation in politics, economy and social life is a measure of national development. In that context, though women are over 50 per cent of our population, we cannot proudly say women lead in politics, economy or social life. Many countries surpass Sri Lanka: in Norway, Sweden and Finland, women’s political and economic participation and representation exceed 40 per cent; Rwanda’s Parliament has 61 per cent women.

¶ 04 Against that, in our 2018 local government elections, only 1,919 out of 8,325 elected members were women (23 per cent). In the last Provincial Council elections, fewer than 5 per cent of elected members were women. In the 2024 Parliamentary Election, only 22 out of 225 (9.8 per cent) were women. The percentage of women in the Cabinet is also low. This must increase.

¶ 05 To reach 50 per cent representation for women in Sri Lanka will take a long journey unless we act. We should work together to amend election laws so that in local, provincial and parliamentary elections, women’s representation will not be less than 50 per cent. Similarly, laws should ensure women get at least 50 per cent in university admissions, higher education, and government employment. In India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, reservation laws ensure participation of women across sectors. We should consider such measures.

¶ 06 There is a large number of female‑headed households—about 92,000 in the North and East; about 16,000 in Trincomalee District which I represent. They lack stable income. Their children’s future is at risk. Many lack sufficient literacy or skills to enter the labour market. We must provide training to build income‑earning self‑employment. Therefore, allocations to this Ministry should be increased manifold.

¶ 07 Last year, the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs received Rs. 19.2 billion; this year it is Rs. 14 billion, a 26 per cent reduction. Women’s development programmes under the Ministry have been cut from Rs. 2,818 million to Rs. 844 million (a 70 per cent cut). Social development sector allocations of Rs. 1,836 million last year have been removed entirely this year. These are worrying. The Government should increase this Ministry’s allocation manifold.

¶ 08 About 25 per cent of our population are children. Compared to Western countries, concern and expenditure on children in Sri Lanka are inadequate. This Budget allocates Rs. 479 million for probation and child care services—Rs. 36 million more than last year, which is welcome—but overall child development programmes have been reduced from Rs. 13 billion to Rs. 12.6 billion (a 2.7 per cent cut), which is concerning. Other countries allocate far higher budget shares for children; here the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs gets only 0.3 per cent of the total Budget. This is unsatisfactory and should be increased.

¶ 09 In 47 State‑run child care homes there are 1,075 children; in 312 NGO‑run homes, 8,182 children—a total of 9,257. About 10 per cent are orphans; the remaining 90 per cent are placed due to family economic hardship though parents visit and take them home during holidays. Only the 10 per cent orphans lack such support and face psychological impacts. Studies show children fare better living with parents or relatives. If we raise the incomes of those 90 per cent of families, admissions to children’s homes could be reduced by 90 per cent. Action should be taken accordingly.

¶ 10 Around 5,000 families have sought to adopt children through courts. By giving orphans to such parents, those children can grow with psychological well‑being in family settings. The Ministry of Women and Child Affairs, together with the Ministry of Justice, should facilitate this. I conclude my remarks. Thank you.