Where Are the Women? – Reuters

By Uditha Jayasinghe

COLOMBO – In Sri Lanka’s upcoming presidential election, none of the 38 candidates are women, highlighting a significant disparity in a nation where women represent over half the electorate and the workforce.

Unlike other countries, Sri Lanka made history in 1960 by electing Sirimavo Bandaranaike as the world’s first female prime minister, a role later held by her daughter. Currently, women account for 52% of the 17 million registered voters, who will cast their ballots for a new president on September 21 amidst a severe economic crisis.

Despite the introduction of universal suffrage in 1931, female representation in the parliament has never exceeded 7%. Presently, women constitute just 5.3% of the 225 members and have historically occupied only a small number of cabinet positions.

Harini Amarasuriya, a female parliamentarian, emphasized that simply setting a 25% quota for lawmakers in 2016 is not sufficient. She advocated for a broader initiative to encourage women’s involvement in politics and leadership positions. "The quota system can create numerical changes, but for meaningful progress, there must be an active effort to include women in political life," Amarasuriya stated.

Currently, Irrigation Minister Pavithra Devi Wanniarachchi is the only woman in a cabinet of 16, with just two women serving among the junior ministers.

Nimalka Fernando from the Women’s Political Academy pointed to the patriarchal nature of Sri Lanka’s political landscape as a barrier to increased representation. She noted, "The greatest hurdle is that men do not view politics as a space to be shared equally with women." Despite women being active in campaigning and protests, there is a significant gap when it comes to decision-making roles.

Samudra Jayalath, 61, has been handing out campaign materials for opposition leader Sajith Premadasa. After winning a local election in 2012, she had hoped her political career would flourish, but she stated, "It’s very hard for women to succeed in politics unless they come from political families. Political parties often want women simply to fill roles." Despite nearly 40 years of political engagement, she has not attained a national position.

Premadasa faces competition from current President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has navigated the country through the ongoing financial crisis, as well as Marxist parliamentarian Anura Kumara Dissanayake, among others. Of the main candidates, Wickremesinghe is the only one to propose specific measures to enhance women’s political representation. Meanwhile, Premadasa has pledged to improve maternity laws, and Dissanayake has outlined plans for better management representation and labor law modernization.

Despite the 2016 quota, women’s involvement in grassroots governance has remained stagnant, not surpassing 23%, and efforts to implement a similar quota at the provincial level have stalled in parliament for over two years.

As Jayalath prepares for her final election, she plans to hand her organizing responsibilities to a male colleague, having struggled to find a female successor. Reflecting on her experiences, she remarked, "One must have a natural aptitude for politics. This system will not change unless we drive that change ourselves."