President’s pledges to women, a review

Jan 08, 2016 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government needs to address several important issues in order to achieve significant progress in honoring the pledges made by President to women, Verité Research said in a report. The report offers an insight into the actionable promises made by President Maithripala Sirisena through ‘A New Sri Lanka for Women’ document during his election campaign. The nine actionable promises featured in the graph below have been classified by Verité according to the level of progress seen in their fulfillment. Out of the nine pledges selected for this report, five have been classified as ‘in progress’ and the remaining four have been classified as ‘no progress’. The report has also identified three obligations that the government needs to address if there is to be significant progress made in honouring these pledges. - The general safety and protection of women, including protection from sexual harassment and abuse, should be prioritized. - Reforms in terms of fair wages, benefits and social security must be introduced expeditiously. - International conventions that provide a framework for securing basic rights for women must be ratified. Though pledges made by President Sirisena remain ambitious; they are actionable only through proper planning and monitoring, and effective advocacy, the report concludes. Full Report here.