President calls for more women in politics to fight state level
corruption
by Ranil Wijayapala
President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga yesterday
invited the country's womenfolk to take the lead and enter politics to
wipe out, killings, thuggery and corruption at state level.
Addressing the Sri Lanka Freedom Party Women's
Conference that coincided with the International Women's Day, the
President noted that women are less engaged in corruption and the advent
of women into politics will help minimising corruption in the state
sector.
"The women in this country are suppressed and cannot
give a proper account of their skills in a male dominant society and
have no chance to enter politics", the President added.
President Kumaratunga said women can engage in governing
the country if they developed their skills of management from the
experience they get when managing their family units. She said though
women represents more than 52 per cent of country's population only a
handful of women are represented in the Parliament. "If we have a
correct proportionate of women representation there should be at least
126 women MPs in the Parliament", the President added.
She said the Sri Lanka's women sent the first message to
the world that women can work on par with their male counterparts, by
electing the first woman Prime Minister of the world.
"We didn't need any struggle to do that. We did it
through the voting right of the people", the President added.
Following the example set by Sri Lanka, South Asia has
become the region which produced the largest number of women leaders in
the world.
The President said women have a special role to play
when taking the country forward and added that they should organise
themselves to become leaders to take forward that challenge.
The President said she was ready to provide whatever
assistance to Women's Organisations to train such women leaders.
SLFP General Secretary and River Basin Development and
Rajarata Development Minister Maitripala Sirisena said that the SLFP
when presenting their new programme at the SLFP Convention on March 11
will give priority to solve the problems relating to women's membership
in the party.
"Regulations will be brought to make it mandatory for
the District Organisers to meet with their Women Organisation at least
once in three months. We will make laws to take disciplinary action
those who failed to do so", he added. |
