News
Women must unite for their political rights – Dr. Fernandopulle
Women must be united to win their political rights, Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, Chairperson of Women Parliamentarians Caucus in Parliament and State Minister of Primary Health Care, Epidemics and Covid Disease Control said yesterday.
She said that women accounted for 52% of Sri Lanka’s population and 56% of the voters.
The Minister said this at the launch of the Report on the Representation of Women in Political Parties by One Text Initiative and Political Parties for Democracy in Finland at Monarch Imperial to map policies and practices for women’s political participation.
The research, conducted with the participation of six major political parties, provides a comprehensive picture of the political involvement of women in Sri Lanka, she said.
The Minister said that there are only 12 MPs and they are ignored.
“In order to be heard over the 213 male MPs, its important to join the 23% of local government women councillors,” she said.
The Minister pointed out that although the 12 Members of Parliament are from different parties, they stand together on women’s issues and work together as a forum for women MPs in the event of injustice to a Member of Parliament. She said that the political participation of women was essential and that she was committed to defeating any attempt to reduce the 25% quota for women representation in local government bodies. The Minister said that many steps are being taken to ensure gender equality and also a special Parliamentary Select Committee has been appointed for this purpose.
General Secretary of Samagi Jana Balawega Ranjith Maddumabandara, UNP General Secretary Palitha Range Bandara, General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Dayasiri Jayasekara, MA Sumanthiran on behalf of the Tamil National Alliance, Members of Parliament Premanath Dolawatta, Jagath Pushpa Kumara, Former Members of Parliament Ferial Ashroff, Karunaratne Paranavithana and Ameer Faiz, President of One Text, Kanaka Abeygunawardena, Project Director of One Text, Dr. Prabha Manuratne of the University of Kelaniya, Harinadra B. Dasanayake and Manisha Dullewa were also present at this occasion.
Members of the South Asian Journalists Forum have gathered at the University of New Delhi for a two day conference themed ‘Peace and Co-operation’.
Journalists from Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and India are attending the conference hosted by the University of Delhi in collaboration with the India Chapter of SJF, and will deliberate on how the media can act as a catalyst for regional stability and mutual coexsistence.
A tree plantation campaign was also held at the Ghandi Bhawan premises of the University to mark the event and symbolize growing regional ties.
The Sri Lanka delegation is led by President of SJF’s Sri Lanka Chapter Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi.
The Governor of the of Gujarat, Acharya Devvrat, along with the Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghvi, met with Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on Thursdy [February 05] at the Parliamentary Complex to discuss the arrangements related to the exposition of the Devnimori Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha, which have been brought to Sri Lanka under the patronage of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Government of India.
These sacred relics of Lord Buddha were discovered during archaeological excavations conducted in the 1960s at the historic Devnimori site in Gujarat, the home state of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Until now, these relics had never been taken outside India. As a result of discussions held between President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent visit to Sri Lanka, the people of Sri Lanka have been granted this rare opportunity to venerate these sacred relics.
The exposition of the relics is being held for a period of seven days, from February 05 to February 11, at the Gangaramaya Temple in Hunupitiya, Colombo. Discussions were held between both parties regarding the arrangements related to this event.
The discussion was attended by Samar Nanda, Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Culture; Dr. Satyanjal Pandey, Acting High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka; Abhijit Halder, Director General of the International Buddhist Confederation; along with several others.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) GHARIAL made a port call in Colombo for operational turnarounds on 04 Feb 26. The Sri Lanka Navy welcomed the visiting ship in compliance with naval traditions.
Commanded by Commander Gaurav Tewari, INS GHARIAL is a vessel with a length of 124.8 meters.
During this visit, ten (10) Bailey Bridges, brought by ship, through the coordination of the High Commission of India in Sri Lanka, will be handed over to the Disaster Management Center. These bridges will provide temporary transportation links while bridges damaged across the island by adverse weather conditions are repaired.
The crew’s itinerary features scheduled goodwill activities with the Sri Lanka Navy, alongside visits to several tourist attractions across the island.
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