Visit by Sri Lankan Parliamentary delegation

JOINT MONITORING COMMITTEE ON IMPROVEMENT OF QUALITY OF LIFE AND STATUS OF WOMEN
1 August 2006
VISIT BY SRI LANKAN PARLIAMENTARY DELEGATION

Acting Chairperson: Ms D M Morobi (ANC)

Documents handed out:
List of Members of the Sri Lankan Delegation, South Africa Tour July 2006
Foreign Relations and Protocol Office, Parliament Letter on Study Visit of the Women’s Caucus in Parliament of Sri Lanka to South Africa
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA): Women in Parliament, Beyond Numbers (available at http www.idea.int/)

SUMMARY
A Sri Lankan parliamentary delegation and the Committee discussed issues of gender and transformation, focusing particularly on comparative gender issues. The Sri Lankan delegation expressed the wish to learn from the experiences of South Africa whilst the Committee seemed interested in how Sri Lanka addressed women’s issues like domestic violence.

MINUTES

Acting Chairperson’s introduction

The Acting Chairperson Ms D Morobi (ANC) welcomed the Sri Lankan parliamentary delegation and announced that Ms M Morutoa (ANC), the Committee Chairperson, could not make it to the meeting because of a death in the family.  The Deputy Chairperson could also not attend because he was out of the country.  The Acting Chairperson welcomed the Sri Lankan delegation and gave a brief summary of the focus of the Committee.

Briefing by the Sri Lankan parliamentary delegation

The Sri Lankan delegation then delivered a brief background on the history of women’s rights in Sri Lanka.  This included the preparation of a women’s rights bill, a National Committee established in 1993 to examine the progress of women, the creation of a national organisation for women, and a push for gender mainstreaming programmes. Sri Lanka has also established a ministry for child development and women’s empowerment.  The delegation expressed a desire to increase the seats for women in local government.

The delegation also talked about women’s issues in their country such as domestic violence, sexual harassment in the workplace, child abuse and low voter participation by women. 

Discussion

Ms C Zikalala (IFP) was surprised at the similarities between South African and Sri Lankan offences against women such as sexual assault, domestic violence, and physical, emotional and verbal abuse.  She requested the delegation to elaborate on how offenders were punished in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Minister responded that such offences were tried in the magistrates court.

Ms S Rajbally (MF) asked about the strictness of Sri Lankan law concerning violence against women and child abuse, such as the marriage of very young children.  She wondered whether offenders were incarcerated. She also asked if Sri Lankan law provided heavy punishment for both, or if one was considered more serious than the other.

The Minister responded that Sri Lankan law did not allow marriage between young children. In Sri Lanka the minimum age for marriage is 18.  Even if there is a marriage between children, the government could nullify the marriage and place the children under protective care. 

She also stated that while there was no institutional difference between women and children under Sri Lankan law, child abuse was treated as a more serious crime.  In a population of 18-19 million people in Sri Lanka, 52% were women.  She stated that because of the small size of the island, one authority oversaw women’s issues. She also mentioned that Sri Lanka had a child protection authority.

Ms Zikalala queried how offenders were punished for their offences.

The Sri Lankan Minister stated that offenders were punished under the penal code.

The Minister also stated that for a long time, Sri Lanka treated women well.  By the 1930s women could vote.  But unfortunately there had been low voter participation since then.  She said that education in Sri Lanka was free for all men and women and there was a high literacy rate. The State provided free healthcare was for all and as a result there was a low mortality rate among infants and mothers. There were also more women in Sri Lankan colleges than men.

Concerning domestic violence, the Minister stated that Sri Lanka was promoting action against domestic violence, telling women not to submit to traditional beliefs that it is acceptable to hit a woman.  The Minister revealed that police stations in Sri Lanka contained women’s desks created specifically to handle violence against women because of the problem of domestic violence stemming from traditional beliefs. She also noted that there were many men in the Sri Lankan legislature who supported women’s rights. 

The Minister stated that she and her delegation hoped to learn how South Africa has handled these kinds of women’s issues, but acknowledged that Sri Lanka has been fortunate in many ways.

Mr F Maserumule (ANC) stated that as a former soldier, he wondered about the situation with the Tamils in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Minister responded that there has been discrimination against the Tamils, and the issues concerning them had not been resolved.  She said that the Sri Lankan President wanted to negotiate and that the problem could only be solved through negotiation.  She also stated that as history had not been fair to the Tamils, the Freedom Fighters were continuing their struggle. She conceded that although the peace talks failed, Sri Lanka still hoped to eventually come to a constitutional arrangement.

Mr Maserumule wondered if Sri Lanka could learn from South Africa’s experience during its transition from apartheid.  He stated that the negotiations in 1990-1991 were peaceful, and internal, relying on no foreign entities or facilitators such as the United Nations.

Some members in the Sri Lankan delegation expressed surprise in response to the idea that South Africa’s negotiations had been internal.

Mr Maserumule continued that the 1996 negotiations in Parliament happened because of visionary leadership, and that perhaps Sri Lanka could learn from the South African transition and prevent further civil war.

The Acting Chair mentioned that apartheid had a terrible effect on South African human rights.  She stated that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) had promoted national unity and established the nature of human rights violations in South Africa, allowing people to speak up about abuses.  The TRC was progressive and gender sensitive, she said.

Mr Maserumule added that South African gender sensitivity came out of the struggle. Women were very involved, he said. He also stated that August was women’s month.  Women and men were involved, although participation is poor in the private sector.

A member of the Sri Lankan delegation wondered if there was a quota system in the South African Parliament, and inquired about the amount of female representation in Parliament.

Committee Members confirmed that the quota was 30% women in a parliament.

The Sri Lankan delegation wondered if the people elected all of the women in Parliament.

Committee Members confirmed that they were.

Ms S Rajbally (MF) stated that the Sri Lankan delegation brought up some interesting points, including that with a population of 19 million the government could provide free education and medical care. She wondered if these provisions were affordable. She also queried how much the women’s desks were used and if the complaints were taken seriously.  She stated that women in South Africa had “come up forcefully” and in some instances had overtaken the men.  She said that women wanted 50% representation in Parliament and that the President agreed with this. She came from a trade union background, and had seen a lot of wage discrimination against women.  Today, the men as well as the women were the breadwinners in South Africa.  On August 9^th, South Africa would “buzz” on Women’s Day.

Ms I Direko (ANC) clarified that while it was not law, it was the ANC’s policy that there should be 50% female representation at all levels of society, even in the business sector.

The Sri Lankan Minister said that Sri Lanka was not wealthy, but had a big budget for education. Education and healthcare were free and the government even provided bursaries for postgraduate studies.  Concerning the women’s desks, women were taken seriously.  In practice, however, women could not lay complaints because of traditions, which has made implementation difficult. She conceded that it was not a perfect system.

The Minister revealed that female representation in the Sri Lankan Parliament had never exceeded 6%.  She added, however, that Sri Lanka had the first female Prime Minister in the world. The female parliamentarians have all been part of political families, however, and that is, in many cases, why they are involved. It is hard for some women to get involved because of traditional beliefs. Women are slandered “terribly” when they run for office in Sri Lanka and this has discouraged many. Some people in Sri Lanka were asking for a quota system for women similar to India’s.

The Minister stated that in Sri Lanka, women are involved in all walks of life.  They also have a female secretary general in Parliament.  There is generally no salary discrimination, except for women working in foreign-owned industries.  

A Sri Lankan Member stated that Sri Lanka is a culturally dependent society where families are dependent on each other.  The mother depends on the son and the children on the mother. She asked how South Africa got to 30% female representation and reconciliation.

Ms Direko responded that women were involved in the apartheid struggle and South Africa had a parliament that was very sympathetic to women’s issues.

The Sri Lankan delegation wondered how grassroots communication by women in Parliament was conducted.
.
Members of the Committee confirmed that this was done through constituency work.

The meeting was adjourned.