Policy for Gender Equality

Draft Outline prepared for the Campaign for Sound Policy

24 June 2014
With inputs from Prof. Swarna Jayaweera, Dr. Shermal Wijewardena, Ms. Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala, Ms.
Anberiya Hanifa, Dr. Ramani Jayasundera and Dr. Sepali Kottegoda

Key Areas
Womens empowerment, womens rights and Gender Equality as a specific focus area.
Gender equality as a cross-cutting issue to be reflected in all policies.
Sri Lanka has ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women (CEDAW) (in 1981)
The UN Convention for the Protection of Migrant Workers and their Families (1999)
It is committed to the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action on Women (1995)
Sri Lanka is now engaged with the global discussions and debates and formulations of the
Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals that will be finalized and agreed to in September
2015.
Goal 3 is on Gender Equality and womens rights.

Key Institutions
Ministry of Womens Affairs (MWA) which is informed on policy by the National
Committee on Women (NCW) and implementation carried out by the Womens
Bureau.
A Womens Charter was passed by cabinet in 1993. The purpose of the Charter was
to inform policy formation in the country.
National Action Plans on Women have been periodically formulated by the National
Committee on Women. Each issue area is set out in terms of the problem,
strategies, responsible institution/s (both government and non government) and a
timeline.

Analysis: The resources available for the MWA are very poor; budgetary allocations for the MWA is
negligible and the quality and number of qualified personnel inadequate for coherent high level of
effectiveness.

Present state of policy

Sri Lanka does not have a national policy on Gender Equality.

Analysis:
A Gender Equality Policy is urgently needed.

Policy gaps - Analysis:

The National Action Plan on Women has never been implemented in any
substantive way.
Lack of an integrated policy on Gender Equality and gaps in specific policies on
diverse areas.
Absence of effective mechanisms to ensure implementation and monitoring of
policies and programmes from central to local levels.

Specific gaps:
The Education curricula (across subject areas, in all three languages), including technical and vocational
training programmes are largely based on gender stereotyping.
Policy on migration valorizes men as primary decision maker/income contributor who has no role to play
in the care of children. Women are deprived of right to employment on the grounds of misconceptions
on maternal duties.
Maternity Benefits do not cover those who adopt infants.
Current housing policies do not give equal ownership to spouses; men or adult sons are given ownership
over women.
Lack of institutional recognition of Joint Ownership
Sexual orientation and gender identity are excluded from formulations of/on citizens rights.
Lack of Temporary Special Measures to increase womens political representation/participation absent.
Lack of policies to ensure mainstreaming of Gender Disaggregated Data.

Specific gaps contd

Lack of policy in key institutions to integrate emphasis on violence against women including policies to
expedite cases of violence against women.
Lack of separate courts to expedite cases of rape, sexual harassment and all other forms of violence
against women.
Lack of inclusion of gender equality principles in curricula for Judicial Education.
Lack of gender responsive framework for media policy.
Lack of enumeration of Unpaid Care Work which deprives national recognition of womens labour
contributions to household and national economies.
Discriminatory wage practices in the informal sector (agriculture).
Lack of coherent policies to recognize the strengths and economic and political role of female headed
households
Lack of a sexual harassment policy inclusive of grievance procedures in both government and private
sectors.

Suggested outline of a new policy

Vision and Values
The policy on Gender Equality would bring about acceptance and better understanding of equality of
women and men and would integrate and respect diversity across ethnic, religious and sexual identities
of all citizens.

Objective
To bring about social, economic and political norms and programmes that strengthen equality between
women, men
Change needed
All National Policies must integrate principles of Gender Equality
A National Commission on Women must be appointed in line with the Human Rights Commission and be
able to address and direct redress all issues relating to gender based discrimination.
Policy to strengthen the principle of gender equality in section 12 (3) in the Constitution by reviewing
and abolishing or amending all laws that are discriminatory to women.

A Gender Equality Policy will:

Address the need to move away from a focus that is overwhelmingly on womens reproductive roles
to shared domestic, economic and political roles of women and men
Address gender stereotyping in education curricula from primary levels up gender roles should
promote and support non- gender stereotyping in educational curricula and recognize sexual diversity
in our society.
Ensure womens individual autonomy control over their lives
Challenge and change negative social norms that discriminate against women and perpetuate violence
against women
Address gender inequalities at the home, workplace and in society
Ensure a focus on womens rights as human rights
The new policy should have a holistic perspective and a framework that reflects womens rights and
gender equality underscored by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Convention on Economic Social and Cultural Rights and CEDAW which have all been ratified by Sri
Lanka.