The newly appointed Cabinet which consists of 17 Ministers has failed to include female representation. 

The new Cabinet was appointed by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the President’s House in Colombo today. 

The list shows the lack of female representation, and also does not include the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs. 

The previous Cabinet of Ministers included one female Parliamentarian in a ministerial portfolio.

Chairperson of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus (WPC) in Sri Lanka parliament, Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and COVID Disease Control has written to the Speaker of Parliament to take steps to prevent verbal harassment of female members by their male colleagues.

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

For the first time in 20 years a woman candidate has been named to contest at the upcoming Presidential Election. Environmentalist Dr. Ajantha Perera being nominated is largely seen as a positive sign for increased women representation in Sri Lankan politics, which remains largely male dominated. 

(PRESS RELEASE) – 31 July 2017, Colombo: A discussion forum on operationalizing the 25% quota for women in Local Government, and comparative experiences on advancing women’s political participation was held on Wednesday, 26 July 2017 at the Lighthouse, Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute.