Women’s rights against Lankan culture: Women’s Affairs Minister Karaliyadda
Monday, 9 December 2013 00:11
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Controversial Minister says Sri Lanka will not ratify some conventions to eliminate discrimination against women
By Ashwin HemmathagamaOur Lobby Correspondent
Sri Lanka will not enforce or ratify some international and local conventions which will help to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in Sri Lanka and to protect them, Minister of Child Development and Women’s Affairs Tissa Karaliyadda told Parliament, in response to a question raised by Opposition Parliamentarian Rosy Senanayake on Saturday.
Making another controversial statement in Parliament, Minister Karaliyadda said Sri Lanka has a better status compared with other countries in this region. “Women enjoy equal recognition and protection. Most of these conventions go against our culture and religion,” he said.
Gender rights activists are already calling for Minister Karaliyadda’s resignation after he made several sexist remarks in public.
UNP MP Senanayake said the Government was not handling women’s issues efficiently, adding that the Land Ordinance in Sri Lanka was specially mentioned at the 48th assembly of the international Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
“Co-ownership of land is still not upheld in Sri Lanka and it is serious issue. The salary discrimination among the female workforce is also considerable. According to the recent Central Bank report, the numbers of women engaged in irregular jobs is over 57%. They are mainly engaged in estates in the tea and rubber sector,” Senanayake said.
“Sri Lanka is one of the few countries with least women representation in politics. The President pledged to increase the female representation by 25%. But the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Affairs still couldn’t enact laws to increase female representation over 30%,” she charged.
