One of Sri Lanka’s social stigmas has been the subtle or open discrimination against women and girls in vital areas. It often begins in the home. In most cases the husband—just because he earns the money to run the home—plays a domineering or authoritative role and takes important decisions on his own. Wife beating is another matter. Spirituality tells us that the husband and the wife should play an equal role in decision making and other matters. Therefore the lack of spirituality begins in the home, and it leads to bribery and corruption, the desire for prestige, popularity and for personal gain or glory. Women and girls also suffer discrimination in other vital areas including healthcare, education and even in politics. Though there was a decision that in Parliament, Provincial Councils and other local councils, 25% of the members should be women, it has not happened and they are heavily under-represented. Other social areas include marriage. For example, one of the world’s greatest philosophers Rabindranath Tagore has lamented that in India marriage is like a marketplace where women are put up for sale—Rs.10 million for a doctor and little less for engineers, accountants, architects and other professionals.

We marked the 74th Independence Day anniversary yesterday. While there are serious questions as to who is independent and who is dependent on whom, we need to remember what one of the world’s greatest statesmen Mahatma Gandhi said about freedom. He said freedom would be the day when a woman or girl could walk on the street late at night without being molested or sexually harassed. 

Next week, the United Nations marks the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. In a statement, the UN Women’s movement says the world needs science, and science needs women and girls. Women have led ground-breaking research into public health, vaccines, treatments and innovative technology, and been on the front lines of COVID-19 response as scientists, health care workers and more.

Yet, the gender gap in science and technology holds women back. According to the latest UN Science Report, only 33% of researchers are women, though they represent 45% and 55% of students at the Bachelor’s and Master’s levels of study respectively, and 44% of those enrolled in PhD programmes. While 70% of health and social care workers are women, they are paid 11% less than their male counterparts.

The COVID-19 pandemic is poised to widen the existing gender disparities, especially for women scientists at the early stages of their career, unless we act deliberately to keep women in the career pipelines.  It is more important than ever to recognise women’s contributions in science, smash stereotypes and defeat discrimination against women and girls in science.

These are stories of women in science, women who are making a difference during the pandemic. It will be two years since the WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. By now, every corner of the world has felt the devastating impact of the pandemic, and women and girls are on the front lines of response. They are healthcare workers and innovators. They are researching vaccines and pioneering treatments. They are leading us toward a safer world and inspiring the next generation of girls to be forces of good in science and technology. 

Co-founder of the biotechnology company BioNTech, ÖzlemTüreci is not just a scientist but also a physician, an entrepreneur and a leader in the global health sector. In 2020, her company developed the first approved RNA-based vaccine against COVID-19. This came as a much-needed moment of hope in a year of unprecedented crisis. More than 1,300 people from about 60 countries currently work at BioNTech, and more than half of them are women. Ms. Türeci says researchers should focus on the things they want to change and the problems they want to solve, thinking broader and dreaming big.

There are many discoveries that made the COVID-19 vaccine possible, and one of the most essential researches was that of Katalin Karikó, focused on the therapeutic possibilities of mRNA. Yet, her idea that mRNA could be used to fight disease was deemed too radical, too financially risky to fund at the time. She applied for grant after grant, but kept getting rejections. She was even demoted from her position. Nevertheless, she persisted.

Eventually, Ms. Karikó and her former colleague Drew Weissman developed a method of utilising synthetic mRNA to fight disease. That discovery is now the basis of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Indian Yoga Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has said the role of women in the development of society is of utmost importance. In fact, it is the only thing that determines whether a society is strong and harmonious, or otherwise. Women are the backbone of society.