News
Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus says 22A fails to ensure gender equality
The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus says that the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution has failed to ensure gender equality.
The Caucus headed by MP Dr. Sudarshini Fernandopulle, met in the Parliamentary complex last week (06) and decided that the Bill should be revised to introduce a quota for women in decision-making entities including the Commissions and the Constitutional Council.
The Caucus examined the 22nd Amendment Bill from a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) perspective.
Whilst highlighting the salient features of the Bill, the Caucus was of the view that provisions of the Amendment Bill had failed to award any gender quota (in the form of a reserved seat or otherwise) to ensure female representation in the Constitutional Council and that the Bill does not expressly contain any substantial provisions aimed at ensuring Gender Equality or Social Inclusion.
It was also recommended to propose a quota for a woman parliamentarian to be appointed to the post of Speaker or Deputy Speaker.
The Caucus has also recommended that Article 16 of the Constitution be amended to ensure that the provisions in the Fundamental Rights Chapter, particularly Article 12, overrides the restrictions arising from retaining old laws, including personal laws such as the MMDA and property rights of married women under Tesawalami law, that clawback equality from women.
MPs Thalatha Atukorale, Rohini Wijeratne, Rajika Wickramasinghe, Manjula Dissanayake, and representatives of the National Democratic Institute (NDI), were present at the meeting, sources said.
The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) on Friday said the largest groundwater source discovered in Sri Lanka so far had been identified during tube-well drilling near the Pitabeddara Police Station.
Indrajith Gamage, geologist in charge of the Southern Province, said the source recorded a continuous flow of about 10,000 litres (10 cubic metres) per minute, marking the first instance in the country where a groundwater source of that magnitude had been found.
He noted that the previous largest groundwater source was discovered in the Madhu area, which recorded a flow of about 7,000 litres per minute.
According to the NWSDB, the tube well was drilled following geological studies of rock layers and the identification of underground water through fractures in rock strata using specialised technical instruments.
The Board said steps would be taken to distribute water from the newly discovered source to residents facing shortages in Pitabeddara, Morawaka and surrounding areas.
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has formally handed over its historical records to the National Archives Department, entrusting over a century of the nation’s commercial history to the country’s official custodians of heritage.
The archive, spanning from the CCC’s founding in 1839 to 1973, includes correspondence, meeting minutes, reports, ledgers, and publications that chronicle the development of trade, enterprise, and industry in Sri Lanka. Together, the records provide a rare and detailed account of the island’s economic evolution and the role of its business community in shaping national progress.
The Ministry of Defence said on Friday (13) that arrangements had been made to repatriate to Iran the bodies of 84 sailors who died aboard the IRIS Dena, which sank in the southern seas off Sri Lanka.
A special aircraft carrying the bodies departed from Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport on Friday, the Ministry said, adding that the repatriation was carried out in coordination with the Embassy of Iran in Sri Lanka.
The remains had been kept in two mobile cold-storage units at the Galle National Hospital before being transported to Mattala by lorry following a court order. Forty-five bodies were moved in the morning, while the remaining 39 were transported later in the day.
Earlier this month, the Iranian naval vessel suffered an incident about 40 nautical miles off Port of Galle while carrying around 180 personnel. Thirty-five rescued sailors were admitted to the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital, while 84 bodies were subsequently recovered.
Following the incident, Pete Hegseth confirmed that the Iranian vessel had been sunk in international waters by a torpedo fired from a submarine of the United States Navy.
Showers will occur at several places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, North-western and Uva provinces and in Galle, Matara, Mannar and Anuradhapura districts after 2.00 pm.
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