Today is International Womens Day:

Create environment to respect women - Premier

COLOMBO: “We should commit ourselves to create an environment where women are respected and honoured in the Society, said Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake in a message to mark the International Women’s Day which falls today.

Prime Minister called upon the entire society to protect women since enforcement and implementation of new laws alone cannot protect women.

The message: The Premier expresses his happiness over the achievements made by women by working with men in equal terms and even going ahead of men. But, still there are instances where women are subjected to harassments, injustices in the male dominated society.

“We must be constantly be on vigilance on the instances where women are subjected to injustices. This vigilance should not be confined only to the International Women’s Day, he said.

Women who were born to this world inheriting motherly affectionate should be highly respected and loved. It is sad to observe women are subjected to harassment instead of they are being respected and loved by the society.

He also said the women are subjected mental and physical abuses and harassments even at their homes. This is an unfortunate situation and this should not take place at any cost in the Sri Lankan society.

We should commit ourselves to create an environment where females are respected as woman, mother, wife, daughter and a sister in the society. The Premier also express his happiness over the decision to celebrate the Women’s Day under the theme ‘Time has ripe to punish the persons who are responsible for violence against women”.

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Empowering women benefits all - UN Secretary General

COLOMBO: “Empowering women is not only a goal in itself. It is a condition for building better lives for everyone on the planet”, says Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the united Nations, in his message to mark this year’s International Women’s Day which falls today.

His full message reads: I am happy and honoured to send you my warmest wishes on International Women’s Day - my first one as Secretary-General of the United Nations. I hope you will all come to know me as your representative and ally in the years ahead.

“This day is an opportunity for all of us - women and men - to unite in a cause that embraces all humankind. Empowering women is not only a goal in itself. It is a condition for building better lives for everyone on the planet.

“No one can dispute the evidence that this is so. And no one can gainsay the outcome of the 2005 World Summit, when leaders reaffirmed that gender equality and human rights for all are essential to advancing development, peace and security.

“Yet we are still so very far from turning this understanding into universal practice. In almost all countries women continue to be under-represented in decision-making positions.

Women’s work continues to be undervalued, underpaid, or not paid at all. Out of more than 100 million children who are not in school, the majority are girls. Out of more than 800 million adults who cannot read, the majority are women.

“Worst of all, violence against women and girls continues unabated in every continent, country and culture. It takes a devastating toll on women’s lives, on their families, and no society as a whole. Most societies prohibit such violence—yet the reality is that too often, it is covered up or tacitly condoned.

“The United Nations must be at the forefront of those endeavours, I pledge to do all I can to ensure that it is—not only on International Women’s Day, but every day. I look forward to working with you in our collective mission,” The UN secretary General said.

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ILO celebrates Int’l Women’s Day

COLOMBO: In keeping with the ILO commitment to gender equality and the improvement of working conditions for women, the International Labour Office (ILO) will mark International Women’s Day this year with a range of events designed to celebrate working women who have been “breaking boundaries and driving change”.

These include a special public event to be held at ILO headquarters in Geneva, states an ILO press release.

At ILO headquarters, two working women Anousheh Ansari and Rabiatu Serah Diallo, who have been pioneers in unique areas in the advancement of women will participate in a round-table event on Thursday, 8 March to discuss how they broke the boundaries of change.

Rabiatu Serah Diallo, an active campaigner for worker’s rights since her early youth, is the first woman to hold the post of General Secretary of the Confederation Nationale des Travilleurs de Guinee (CNTG) and the first woman to attain such a position in an African country. She has been working on all fronts in her country, Guinea, which faces severe poverty and has been the scene of violent clashes over recent weeks.

The ILO will also issue a new study entitled “Global Employment Trends for Women, Brief 2007”.

The study provides a concise overview of the state of women in labour market worldwide, lncluding new data on the number of women who are in work, the number who are unemployed and what it calls the “feminization of working poverty”.

In Sri Lanka the ILO office in collaboration with the American Solidarity Center is organising a two day seminar on “Celebrating working women - breaking boundaries and driving change”.

The event will be held in Kandy from March 8 to 10. Twenty women trade unionists and 10 women employer representatives will focus on designing an advocacy paper on women in development and the labour market it is expected that this policy paper will be used as a tool to lobby for women’s issues in the Sri Lankan developmental process and specific policy fora.

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Ex - Air Force Assn. to establish women’s wing

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

COLOMBO: The Sri Lanka Ex-Air Force Association has made arrangements to establish its Women’s Wing to mark International Womens’ Day.

The inaugural meeting will be held at the Air Force Headquarters Sports Auditorium. at 9.00 a.m. today.

The first batch of Air women of the Sri Lanka Air Force was recruited in 1985 and so far over 200 women have retired after completing 15 years service.

President Ex-Air Force Association, Squadron Leader Hemantha Satharasinghe said that female retired members of the Air Force also joined the main Ex-Air Force Association but as the retired Army and Navy women have formed separate associations it is a good thing to follow in their footsteps so that they all can get together and work.

Former President of Ex- Servicemen’s Association, Air Vice Marshal Harry Goonatilake and Commanding Officer Air Force Women’s Wing Group Captain Anura Silva and the President of Ex- Army Women’s Association also have been invited for the inauguration.

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Australian HC celebrates Women’s Day

COLOMBO: The Australian High Commission will hold an essay competition for high school students islandwide on “Women as Community Builders in Sri Lanka” to mark the International Women’s Day, a release by the Australian High Commission in Colombo said.

Thousands of events are held worldwide to celebrate the International Women’s Day which falls on March 8. It is a day to inspire women, celebrate their achievements and reflect their struggle for equality, justice, peace and development, release said.

In Sri Lanka, the Australian Government has been working to ensure that Australia’s aid programmes assist women around the country. The Australian Government has supported UNICEF and other international and local NGOs to provide better services to disadvantaged women’s groups especially in the areas of health, sanitation, education and nutrition.

Another type of Australian Government assistance to women has been to support microfinance and micro-enterprise development, in order to enhance economic conditions of rural women. One of the most important results of the programme has been the increasing involvement of women in decision making within their societies.

In addition, rural women have been empowered to form small groups and eventually federations, as a result of their new found economic independence.

Through its Human Rights Small Grants Scheme, the Australian Government has funded Women in Need, an organisation that is working to prevent violence against women and children.

Women In Need provides women with legal advice, psycho-social counselling services and advice. It has a number of crisis centres in hospitals and police stations in Colombo and around the country.