The Hon. Thurairasa Ravikaran

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, I am pleased to speak in the Committee Stage debate on the Appropriation for the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs on International Women’s Day.

¶ 02 In the North and East, mothers who handed over their children to the military and wives who handed over their husbands during the final phase of the war continue their protests seeking the truth about their loved ones who were forcibly disappeared. As in past years when they marked Women’s Day as a day of mourning with major attention-drawing demonstrations, this year too families of the disappeared held a protest at Vattuvakal, Mullaitivu. What answer do we have for these women? Will the new Government deliver justice to them on this International Women’s Day? Past governments failed them. The new Government must give clear answers and act.

¶ 03 These families have faced court orders restricting protests, police actions, intimidation, surveillance by security agencies, threats of legal action, and covert repression. Various commissions after 2009 only left them feeling deceived. We urge the Government to break from the past and engage with these women with compassion and solutions.

¶ 04 Female-headed households are very numerous in our areas: about 92,000 across the North and East. In Mullaitivu District alone (2023 end): 2,617 in Karai Thuraipattu, 2,121 in Puthukkudiyiruppu, 1,941 in Oddusuddan, 890 in Maritimepattu, 813 in Thunukkai, and 681 in Manthai East—total 9,063 female-headed households. Similarly high figures appear in Vavuniya North, Mannar, and the East. Please ensure monthly income-support and livelihood assistance. These families face heavy burdens—economic deprivation, insecurity, daily livelihood shocks, psychological trauma, children’s education setbacks, unemployment, sexual violence, social exclusion, stigma, over-indebtedness to microfinance—driving some to attempt suicide. Help them live with dignity and keep children in school.

¶ 05 In Mullaitivu, there are many children who have lost parents: 390 who lost both, 514 who lost mother only, 2,263 who lost father only; 292 children with disabilities. These children face heavier economic burdens and higher school dropout. I call upon the Hon. Prime Minister and the Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs—both women—to visit Mullaitivu. Your words of comfort can be a small balm for their pain; your actions can bring relief.

¶ 06 Persons with disabilities in Mullaitivu number 3,158: Puthukkudiyiruppu 943, Karai Thuraipattu 851, Oddusuddan 625, Thunukkai 319, Manthai East 275, Manal Aru 145.

¶ 07 On early childhood education: pre-school teachers—mostly women—receive only Rs. 6,000 per month. How can they meet monthly expenses? These teachers are capable educators of little children. Please cooperate to rectify this and ensure adequate remuneration. I urge Government attention and your support. Thank you.