Women’s representation and the future of Sri Lankan politics

• Since 2012 women have held only 4% of seats at provincial councils and 1.9% in local governments
• The 2018 local government election allowed over 1500 women to make their entry into politics
• Even though women have been ardent supporters of major political parties, they have been playing a behind-the-scenes role
• Rising up the political ladder, some female representatives in rural areas have been able to make significant changes in their respective electorates
• One significant change made by female representatives at local government level was introducing Women and Children’s Committees

Even though women are a majority in this country, they are a minority when it comes to politics. If democracy is executed with the majority voice and opinion a greater part of society would be excluded from the main discourse. They don’t have power and this is what has happened in our country since independence,
- Jehan Perera, National Peace Council Executive Director

These 1926 female representatives have earned their due respect. We represent the local government electorate and implement decisions when it comes to development work and other aspects. We formulate interim constitutions at these local government bodies and I suggest that female representatives have contributed immensely to these policies
- Supini Sandamali, Anuradhapura Municipal Councilor 

Women’s absence in Sri Lankan politics has been subject for debate despite Sri Lanka being the first country in the world to have its own female Prime Minister. The Ceylonese State Council Election of 1931 allowed all Sri Lankan citizens to participate in the democratic process through ‘universal suffrage’. Since then, Sri Lankan women have had the constitutional freedom to not only vote, but engage in political activities as well. But since 2012 women have held only 4% of seats at provincial councils and 1.9% in local governments. Following rigorous advocacy by women’s groups, civil society, professionals and lawyers, an amendment to the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance in 2017 announced a 25% quota for women in local authorities.  

The 2018 local government election allowed over 1500 women to make their entry into politics. Even though women have been ardent supporters of major political parties, they have been playing a behind-the-scenes role, some even serving tea, putting up posters etc., for many years. These women were then empowered by various non-governmental organisations to take the leadership and advocate for change. Rising up the political ladder, some female representatives in rural Sri Lanka have been able to make significant changes in their respective electorates.

Recently, People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), Association of War Affected Women and the National Peace Council held an event to discuss about the progress made through the implementation of the 25% quota in local government institutions. The event witnessed the participation of many women representatives actively engaged in politics at the local government level from across Sri Lanka. 

Poor acknowledgements

Speaking at one of the panel discussions, Anuradhapura Municipal Councilor Supini Sandamali said that the 2018 local government election was a turning point in Sri Lanka’s political history. She said that around 1926 women made their entry to politics during this election. “The local government is indeed like a miniature government that looks after the people and implements decisions for the people. We hope that this would be implemented at the Parliamentary level as well. There is a good network of female representatives among local government bodies. As a result it was a challenge to earn the respect from male counterparts. Respect cannot be measured, it comes from heart and differ from person to person. But these 1926 female representatives have earned their due respect. We represent the local government electorate and implement decisions when it comes to development work and other aspects. We formulate interim constitutions at these local government bodies and I suggest that female representatives have contributed immensely to these policies. Even though the male counterparts acknowledge our efforts in silence the most unfortunate aspect is that they don’t openly acknowledge efforts put forth by women to formulate policies. Even though women are the turning point in Sri Lanka’s political culture we have doubts as to why women are not allowed to make this change at the party level,” said Sandamali. 

Responding to a claim on women not being able to work in unity, Sandamali further said that the core of women politics is networking. “Female representatives at local government institutions were able to network from north to south and East to west. We didn’t use this networking as a tool to inconvenience someone. We networked and voiced against injustices faced by women politicians in parliament, we made tireless efforts to raise our voices, our network voiced against certain amendments in policies. If Sri Lanka’s political culture needs to be more people-centric then it is important to increase female representation in politics,” she added. 

Social service over politics

Women in particular are sensitive towards various issues including issues faced by both women and children. One significant change made by female representatives at local government level was introducing Women and Children’s Committees. “Initially these suggestions went to the dustbin,” said Moratuwa Municipal Councilor Shiromi Cooray. “Most activities at local government level included the construction of roads etc., rather than being people-centric. But we wanted to transform our local government institution into one that would place more emphasis on the human resource in the area including women and children. As a result we formulated committees and put forth our suggestions. Female representatives have been able to establish day care centres for children, identify impoverished families and provide facilities that children in these families need to continue with their education, identify widows and issues faced by women in various communities. Women are able to perceive human relations with a humane approach in contrast to men. Women can be sensitive towards women and children’s affairs. Social service is more important than politics when it comes to local government institutions. Over the past five years we succeeded in making so much progress,” she added.

Women’s representation, a part of system change The vision of the National Peace Council is to establish a multi-cultural and multi-religious society. Speaking at the event, National Peace Council Executive Director Jehan Perera said that therefore all communities are part of the legislature and their ideas and aspirations need to be implemented in this country. “The majority preference alone cannot execute a country’s democracy. We need to take the minority preferences, likes and dislikes, hopes and aspirations also into consideration. Even though women are a majority in this country, they are a minority when it comes to politics. If democracy is executed with the majority voice and opinion a greater part of society would be excluded from the main discourse. They don’t have power and this is what has happened in our country since independence. Decisions were implemented by taking the majority voice into consideration and ignoring the minority voice. Initially we had four children; the Sinhala, Tamil, Malaiyaha Tamil and Muslim child. But with the majority opinion, one child was chased out of the country and their rights were robbed. In 2022 we fell off an economic precipice and the 30-year civil war is one reason for this crisis. There was no development in the country. This is why our people requested for a system change during the aragalaya (protest). A greater part of this system change should be about increasing women’s representation in politics. Here we are asking for a 25% quota as a first step. We are not satisfied about our country’s governance structure. North European and Scandinavian countries such as Sweden, Norway and Denmark are quite compassionate towards their citizens because women’s representation at decision-making level is over 45%. In at least two Scandinavian countries a woman is always elected to the position of prime minister. One key element in this system change is increasing women’s representation in politics,” he added. 

Several other panels discussed about women’s representation in countries such as Rwanda and how increasing women’s representation is a sign of progress.