The proportion of women in the Sri Lankan Parliament remains low after the November 2024 elections, but the trend is improving. Demo Finland has supported women’s political participation in the country from 2019 to 2023. According to an external evaluation, the project strengthened the capacity of women councillors to participate in decision-making.
2024 was a historic year for women politicians in Sri Lanka. In the November elections, 24 women were elected to the country’s parliament. In addition, a woman got the second-highest preferential votes in the history of Sri Lankan elections and became Prime Minister. Harini Amarasuriya is a lawyer and the country’s first female Prime Minister since 1994. The share of women in parliament rose from 5.3% to 10.7%.
The change is rooted in dissatisfaction with the traditional political elite, stemming from the economic collapse. On the other hand, in recent years, women politicians in Sri Lanka have been trained in their role as decision-makers as well as in networking and confronting the media and discriminatory practices. Seeing women as leaders could be a turning point, as role models are crucial.
Women in politics and society
Demo Finland and the Sri Lankan organisation One-Text Initiative (OTI) started working together to support women’s political participation at the local level in Sri Lanka in 2019, in a context where a quota set two years earlier had increased the proportion of women in local councils from 2% to 23%. However, the increased number of women did not translate into increased political power.
After the introduction of the quota, political parties had nominated many women among the contacts of male members of the parties, without the idea of women having any real decision-making power in councils or political parties. According to a study by OTI, it is difficult for women in Sri Lanka to advance in political parties and there are very few women at the central decision-making level of the parties. One of the obstacles to women’s advancement to meaningful positions in political parties is that they are often judged based on the constituency they bring with them. Here, family relationships or other social networks are particularly important.
In the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, which measures the state of equality between women and men, Sri Lanka is ranked 122/146 in 2024. Harassment and violence against women are widespread in the country. 90% of women and girls in Sri Lanka have experienced sexual harassment on public transport, and one in five Sri Lankan women have experienced physical or sexual violence in a relationship. Inequalities are also reflected in other indicators, with 32% of women aged 15 and over working outside the home compared to 72% of men. Women are not used to being seen as decision-makers and the media portrayal of politicians is very male-dominated.
Supporting the political participation of women
The objectives of the Demo Finland and OTI project were to strengthen women’s skills as politicians, create space and opportunities for women in political parties and expand the media’s portrayal of women’s leadership.
The project, which ran from 2019 to 2023, included the creation of a multi-party network of women councillors, trainings for women councillors and support for political parties to promote gender equality, for example through gender equality plans. In addition, the image of women as leaders was reinforced by setting up accounts on various social media channels showcasing women’s leadership.
It is difficult for women in Sri Lanka to advance in political parties and there are very few women at the central decision-making level of the parties.
Around 600 women attended training sessions during the project, covering topics such as social media, the role of local councils, legislation governing local government and lobbying. The trainings were conducted in co-operation with the Sri Lanka Institute of Local Governance (SLILG), the institute responsible for training politicians at the local level.
The project also aimed to provide training for women candidates ahead of the local elections, originally scheduled for 2022. However, the elections were first postponed to 2023 and then cancelled without any information on a new date. In many ways, 2022 was a difficult year in Sri Lanka. The economic and political crisis affected the daily lives of the people and eventually forced President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to resign and flee the country. In addition to the postponement of elections, Demo Finland and OTI’s project was also affected by high inflation.
Training programmes were a success
According to the external evaluation conducted at the end of the project, the most significant result of the project was the increased skills and self-confidence of the participants, thanks to the diverse training programmes. They have enabled women politicians to participate in local councils in a new way, thus contributing to the longer-term impact of the project. Women who have participated in the trainings have a better understanding of the Sri Lankan political system and their role as councillors, as well as the ability to use social media and influence decision-making more effectively. The evaluation describes this change as transformative. The change has been from mere quantitative representation to professional participation in political processes.
The strengthened status of women in society and politics was reflected in the November 2024 parliamentary elections, where a record number of women entered parliament and a female politician was among the most voted candidates.
The increased skills and self-confidence of the participants have enabled women politicians to participate in local councils in a new way.
Another significant result of the project was the establishment of multi-party women’s committees in 60 local councils, which was one of the unexpected, or unplanned, results of the project. Women’s committees are groups under local councils that deal with women’s issues, often including children’s issues. They have created opportunities for women politicians to use their political influence effectively to promote issues they consider important.
There were also challenges in supporting women’s participation. The project carried out a survey with six main parties and 20 minor parties on their gender equality policies and practices (focusing on the main parties). The study highlighted gaps in the parties’ practices of empowering women within the parties. In several parties, women were actively recruited to parties and the party’s women’s association was active, but even active women members were not supported to become influential within the party. For example, women did not feel able to exercise power in the selection of candidates within the parties’ selection committees.
OTI facilitated the work on a gender equality plan of one of the country’s largest political parties and raised interest in gender equality planning in other parties. While the work with the parties led to important discussions on the obstacles women face in politics, structural changes and the development and implementation of new gender equality policies in political parties take time.
Nevertheless, the evaluation found that women’s political participation has become a significant policy issue in Sri Lanka during the project period, with more actors working on it than at the beginning of the project. For example, there is an ongoing debate on extending gender quotas to parliament. The evaluation concludes that although it is difficult to discern a direct impact, it can be assumed that OTI and the project have contributed to making quotas an accepted way of promoting equal participation and democratic decision-making.
Promoting gender equality in politics in local hands
2024 saw a record number of women enter the Sri Lankan Parliament, but the number of women in the executive remained unchanged. Only two of the 21 government ministers are women. The impact of the increased visibility of women politicians at the local level remains to be seen. Although the country successfully held presidential elections in September and parliamentary elections in November, with a peaceful change of power, no new date for local elections is confirmed. Local elections, postponed from 2022, are now expected to take place in early 2025.
The impact of the increased visibility of women politicians at the local level remains to be seen.
However, the fact that OTI has signed a co-operation agreement with SLILG is positive for the sustainability of the Demo Finland and OTI project, which has already ended. SLILG is responsible for training all local politicians in Sri Lanka, and the gender component produced by OTI is now part of all trainings. SLILG can therefore continue to work on gender equality with the skills and networks established during the project. The trainings will continue to disseminate knowledge on gender equality not only among women councillors but also among men councillors.
The 600 trained women politicians will help to ensure that in the next local elections, there will be female candidates with renewed confidence and the ability to influence local decision-making.