General
Recognise Sri Lankan women’s contributions including unpaid house work: Diana
ECONOMYNEXT – The contribution of women to Sri Lanka’s economy particularly in the form of unpaid household work must be recognised, State Minister of Tourism Diana Gamage said, noting that women devote 365 days of the year to their commitments.
Gamage told parliament on Wednesday March 08 that international women’s day must not be limited to one day of the year and that Sri Lanka must go beyond paying lip service to women’s rights.
The outspoken MP also highlighted harassment aimed at herself and other female colleagues in parliament.
“A female MP being addressed in foul language is wrong, irrespective of party affiliation and as women we must all stand against it. Unfortunately, we saw how I was both verbally and visually harassed, one woman MP was seen laughing,” she said.
Noting that 52 percent of Sri Lanka’s population are women, Gamage said that it is embarrassing to have to talk about how people’s representatives who happen to be female are subject to such misogyny in parliament.
“Instead of assigning one day for women, do it all 365 days of the year becuase women devote all 365 days of their years to their sons, their husbands and their families. They make that sacrifice. Though we’re in parliament, we too still have commitments in our own households as women,” she said.
“We meet those obligations and we contribute so much. You might think that women who are at home don’t contribute, but they do, in unpaid contributions at home,” she added. (Colombo/Mar08/2023)
