The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

Samagi Jana Balawegaya· Colombo· 3 February 2026 ·Opening: Parliamentary Announcements and Ministerial Statement

Justice & Human RightsWomen & Children

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Hon. Sajith Premadasa objected to the Government seeking additional time to respond on an issue concerning women’s rights and Sri Lanka’s obligations under CEDAW. He argued that, given the Government’s stated commitments to protecting women’s rights and the presence of women in senior political positions, an immediate answer was required due to the issue’s international implications.

Verbatim record (translated)

Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, we usually agree when the Government seeks time to answer, but this is a serious issue with international implications. We are a signatory to CEDAW. The Government campaigned saying it would protect women’s rights; the Prime Minister is also a woman; there are over twenty women MPs. Why ask for time? An answer is needed now.

Provenance

Source: Hansard, Tuesday, 3 February 2026 ·No. 23252 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Permalink: /lk/speeches/8722

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Cite as: The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 3 February 2026. No. 23252. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/8722