PWC WANTS NATIONAL WOMEN’S COMMISSION

The Sri Lanka Parliamentary Women’s Caucus is seeking to amend the Land Development Ordinance and the Vagrants Ordinance and also to establish a National Women’s Commission by means of a National Women’s Commission Bill. In addition it seeks vast reforms in politics. The Caucus wants laws to ensure that the existing political parties become women friendly. It has proposed laws to make it compulsory for political parties to introduce women’s funds to assist women candidates contesting elections.

It is also lobbying for laws under which at least one woman MP would be appointed to parliamentary committees.

The Caucus is also lobby- ing for laws to make it compulsory for political parties to ensure that 20 percent of their office bearers are women.

UNP MP Rosy Senanayake who commented on these reforms at a media briefing said they were essen- tial considering the position of women in the country. She said there was only a 5.8 percent women’s representation in all spheres in Sri Lanka.

She said this was relatively low compared to a host of other countries. She said there was a 42 per-

And also to establish a National Women’s Commission by means of a National Women’s Commission Bill

cent women’s representation in South Africa, 33.2 percent in Germany, 33 percent in Nepal, 28 percent in Afghanistan, 19.7 percent in Bangladesh, 10 .5 percent in Malaysia and 33 percent in Burundi.