CPA Comms Officer on 8 March, 2025

Letter to the Minister of Women and Child Affairs

On the occasion of International Women’s Day, I write on behalf of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) to urge immediate attention to urgent law and policy reforms towards women empowerment and gender equality. We recognise your efforts, particularly during the CEDAW intervention in February this year, towards upholding and advancing the rights of women in Sri Lanka. However, considering the ground realities we have seen in our years working with communities across the island, there is much work to be done in this regard.

We believe that your leadership is critical at this moment to drive interventions that address multi- dimensional vulnerabilities faced by women and gender minorities in Sri Lanka. Between November 2024 and February 2025, CPA also wrote to his excellency President Dissanayake and Hon. Harshana Nanayakkara, Minister of Justice and National Integration, to raise issues regarding key interventions that are required in the upcoming months to uphold the rights of the Sri Lankan citizenry, including these vulnerable groups.

CPA’s ongoing work with women and other marginalised and vulnerable groups emphasises the importance of engaging diverse stakeholders transparently in shaping the reform process. Collaborative approaches that take into account diverse perspectives can significantly enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of reform initiatives.

In this regard, annexed to this letter are several areas with relevance to gender and sexual rights where CPA believes intervention is required. These areas have been categorised under the following three-fold framework: (1) Law Reforms and Policy Interventions, (2) Socio-economic rights, includingAccess to Land, Livelihoods and Natural Resources and (3) Representation, Reconciliation and Identity. CPA urges your ministry to prioritise these areas for intervention in the upcoming legislative and policy agenda and hopes that immediate steps will be taken to build a system of justice that reflects the aspirations of all Sri Lankans. CPA also welcomes an opportunity to discuss these matters with you further and offers our continued support in implementing reforms aimed at empowering women and advancing gender equality to transform Sri Lanka. We look forward to your response and to seeing positive steps in this regard.