ISO: SRL
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The electronic version of this document has been prepared at the Fourth
World Conference on Women by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
in collaboration with the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Secretariat.
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AS WRITTEN


Statement by Minister of Transport, Environment and Women's Affairs
and Head of the Sri Lankan Delegation

UN Fourth World Conference on Women
4th -15th September, 1995, Beijing


Madam Chairperson,

I congratulate you, on your election. I am sure that with your knowledge
and experience, you will guide our deliberations to a successful
conclusion. May I also congratulate the Secretary-General of the
Conference and her staff on the painstaking work they have put
in, to present to us such a wealth of documentation and information as
we have before us. On behalf of myself and my delegation I wish to
extend to the Chinese authorities our hanks for the Conference
arrangements, the warmth of their welcome and the facilities they have
extended to us to make our stay in this historic and beautiful city of
Beijing both comfortable and enjoyable. I take this opportunity to
convey the greetings and good wishes of the Government and people of Sri
Lanka to the Government and people of the People's Republic of China,
with whom we have had many years of friendship and co-operation.

Madam Chairperson, distinguished colleagues, and delegates.

It is a privilege for me to share some of my Government's thoughts at
this very distinguished gathering which as attempting to pave way for a
good life for women around the globe. As we proceed with this
Conference, we need to take stock of what has been done so far, and what
needs to be done. It is also opportune for us to make a mid stream
evaluation of the directions in which we have been moving since the
Nairobi Conference. While it is useful to share the experience of the
global community on problems of women and the steps taken to alleviate
such problems, we should understand the diverse situations and
circumstances in which the proposed programmes and strategies have to be
implemented.

We have also to clearly comprehend that the place enjoyed by women in
society is different in varied cultures. The different roles played by
them in their capacity as mother, wife or sister were greatly
appreciated by many societies. The mother remains to be the most
respected member in the institution of the family, and this should not
be forgotten in our deliberations.

Before I touch on some of the concepts and issues for the consideration
of this conference, let me very briefly touch on the current position of
the Sri Lankan woman.

The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka recognized gender equality and
freedom from discrimination. The women's Bureau was established in 1978
and a Cabinet rank Women's Affairs Ministry was created in 1983. We have
ratified the UN Convention on the elimination of discrimination against
women in 1981. We have accepted a charter of Women's Rights and a
National Committee on Women has been appointed to implement the
provisions of the Charter. Sri Lanka's efforts in fertility control,
adult literacy and life expectancy at birth have been commended by the
UNDP's Human Development Report of 1993. The literacy rate among men
compared to women is very high in most countries. However in Sri Lanka,
at the level of University graduation, 43% are women. Although the level
of unemployment among women continued to be high during the last few
decades, there had been an attempt to absorb a large section of the
female labour force into the new industrial estates in the Free Trade
Zones. While employment itself is desirable there are many problems that
have arisen along with the new developments. Some of them include
protection of rights of women workers including a good working
environment.

Global recognition of the capacity for women to lead the destinies of
the countries is well demonstrated in the election of women to the
highest positions. We in Sri Lanka have the distinction of having
produced the world's first Woman Prime Minister. We now have a woman
Executive President, a Woman Prime Minister, a Woman Cabinet Minister,
five Woman Deputy Ministers and several Woman Members of Parliament.
Madam Chairperson, in our deliberations we should consider the necessity
to launch programmes in which youth are being trained to work in the
community as facilitators to identify the grass root needs and to find
solutions to them through participatory planning, self employment and
co-operative effort towards development. This mechanism could assist
both rural and urban poor and especially the women.

With regard to development policies we should recommend the
mainstreaming of women into the process since their rights and their
value to society have to be recognized.

Sri Lanka has been extremely sensitive to the vulnerability of women
through environmental degradation both in urban and rural sectors. We
believe that preventive measures should be taken against the adverse
effects of development in these areas at their very planning stage and
monitoring their impact should be done at all stages of implementation .

There are certain deficiencies in national accounting systems where the
contribution of women through their family based activities are not
accounted for. All of these women needs support to give their best
contribution to the economy.

We are extremely sensitive about the women refugees and women headed
families resulting from the unfortunate internal conflicts. We strongly
believe that special efforts should be made to rehabilitate such women
by granting them relief and finding them suitable employment.

In many instances laws and regulations are outdated and prejudicial
against women. Some of them include the marriage and divorce laws. We
feel that National Committees should be appointed to make suitable
recommendations for the removal of those provisions which give women an
unequal position vis-a-vis men.

In the modern day's context, equality and development of women are
closely linked with their employment and economic well being. Employment
gives them a sense of dignity to move confidently with their male
counterparts. Therefore much of the efforts of women's groups should be
targeted towards creating employment. Poverty has contributed to
worsening of women's situation over the years. The number of rural women
living in poverty has nearly doubled over the last 20 years and today
women constitute around 60% of world's one billion rural poor. Women,
because of their present status are more likely to fall victims of
poverty, and being poor they are unable to take steps to liberate
themselves from its vicious cycle.

A woman's skills become less marketable partly on account of her
commitment to her household and partly due to her inability to acquire
specialized skills. As a result, women are frequently confined to less
paid and more casual segments of the labour market. According to an ILO
estimation there is a systematic tendency to under-estimate levels of
female participation in the labour force because women's work
particularly in the rural areas is counted as unpaid family labour.
Along with poverty, an issue that needs to be addressed is malnutrition
of women, particularly the pregnant mothers. A tendency for the mother
is to feed every one in the family and to neglect her own health.
Restricted surveys and sample studies in Sri Lanka have shown that the
prevalence of anaemia as measured by the haemoglobin levels in non-
pregnant and pregnant women has been as high as 60%. The societies have
a responsibility for maternal nutrition and health by targeting the
mothers at risk. They should be undertaken by government agencies as
well as non-government agencies. Poverty alleviation programmes
particularly targeted towards rural groups and disadvantaged groups
should be implemented and should include dietary habits and more
equitable r intra-family distribution of food resources. Of great
significance is the increasing number of lower income group women
seeking employment in South-East Asian countries. The recruitment
mechanisms have made it difficult to maintain records of persons or
destinations of the women migrant workers. A large number of them are
unskilled domestic workers who are highly vulnerable to sexual
exploitation and harassment. At the same time there are no guarantees
for adequate sources of earning for their dependants and children who
are left behind. Many of these women are exploited at both ends-the
country of recruitment and the country of employment. It is necessary
for both countries to develop a code of ethics in employment and ensure
their safety and security. The countries could enter into bi-lateral
agreements to provide the required safeguards. We should consider
strengthening the UN Convention on Migrant Workers and implementing the
provisions to address these issues. Another major issue that all
countries need to address is the incidence of violence against women.
There is a distinct increase in violence against women which includes
domestic violence, rape and sexual harassment. These offences are at
times linked to drug addiction and alcoholism. Some of these incidents
go un-recorded as the women > decide to suffer in silence. Some of the
laws relating to violence against t women are highly biased. These laws
must be amended to afford meaningful protection to women who are open to
exploitation and violence. A disadvantage suffered by the victims of
violence, specially in the case of sexual harassment is that they do not
have the right atmosphere and environment to lodge complaints with the
Law Enforcement Authorities in largely male dominated Police Stations.
It is essential to establish Women's Units in Police Stations to enable
women and children to lodge their complaints with confidence.

Much of the problems of women in the developing countries stem from
their being unaware of their legitimate basic human rights. In many
developing countries, legal literacy for women is given low priority.
Therefore, offering legal literacy to women has to be a high priority.

A girl child as a human being is entitled to the same basic civil status
as a male child. This common approach to children's rights in general
means that the girl child's rights cannot be discussed in gender
specific terms but rather as an aspect of the legal position of all
children. The role of the family, the community and the state are
crucial to ensuring that the girl child grows and develops to her
maximum potential in an atmosphere of love and care.

Special programmes have to be developed to offer access to technology to
women. The technology could range from the sophisticated ones to the
simple ones which could make their lives easier.

In most countries of the developing world, the society's attitude
towards the single woman is very different to that of a single man. In
the framework of the society's traditions, the woman should have the
liberty and freedom to pursue her life's goals according to her wishes.

Before I close, I wish to make some general * comments for the
consideration of this august assembly. Firstly a word of caution to the
women's movements. It has to organize itself in a manner that it reaches
the most needy amongst the women. If we are not mindful of this aspect
there is a danger that the movements can be confined to a few elite
women and our efforts may not benefit the masses as desired.

Finally, I wish to mention that I do not subscribe to the concept that
Women's Groups should act as rivals of men. It should not lead to a
competition between the women and men. They are necessarily partners of
the important institution  the family. Whatever we do should eventually
help the family and should lead to a noble goal of a better life for
women, and through them a better life for the whole community.