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What is holding back Sri Lankan Women from entering politics: Lihini Fernando decodes

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What is holding back Sri Lankan Women from entering politics: Lihini Fernando decodes

Source: Economy Next

Despite Sri Lankan women having progressed by breaking boundaries in many fields, their participation in the country’s politics has remained abysmal.

United National Party municipal councillor from Moratuwa, Lihini Fernando, says that even though politics is very cut-throat, women would still enter if there is a streamlined process to ease their participation.

She also called for political will from male-counterparts to bridge the gender gap in politics in an interview with EconomyNext.

A first step she says is enforcing a 25 per cent female and youth quota in provincial councils and parliament.

If we look at the number in the recently dissolved eighth Sri Lankan parliament from 2015-2020, only 5.7 per cent of members were women, and the situation will remain unchanged in the upcoming parliament election too.

Click here to read the full article published by Economy Next on 27 July 2020.

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Despite Sri Lankan women having progressed by breaking boundaries in many fields, their participation in the country’s politics has remained abysmal.

United National Party municipal councillor from Moratuwa, Lihini Fernando, says that even though politics is very cut-throat, women would still enter if there is a streamlined process to ease their participation.

She also called for political will from male-counterparts to bridge the gender gap in politics in an interview with EconomyNext.

A first step she says is enforcing a 25 per cent female and youth quota in provincial councils and parliament.

If we look at the number in the recently dissolved eighth Sri Lankan parliament from 2015-2020, only 5.7 per cent of members were women, and the situation will remain unchanged in the upcoming parliament election too.

Click here to read the full article published by Economy Next on 27 July 2020.

News
Region
Focus areas