PRESS RELEASE
Vote for Women– Media Campaign Launch
[30 June2015 ], Colombo.The 15thGeneral Election of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is to be held on 17 August,2015. A total of 6,151 candidates from 21 registered political parties (3,653) and 201 independent groups (2,498) will be competing at the forthcoming election in order to elect 225 members to the Sri Lankan Parliament. Of the total candidates nominated, only 556 candidates are women. This is merely 9.2% of the total nominations.
Women represent 52% of Sri Lanka’s population, whilst50% of those eligible to vote are female. However, female representation in Parliament is only at 6%,with 13 women elected to Parliament in the last election. Despite being the first country in the world to produce a female Prime Minister,political participation of women in Sri Lanka is vastly inferior to the rest of South Asia,with30% in Nepal, 28% in Afghanistan, 21% in Pakistan, 20% in Bangladesh, 11% in India,9% in Bhutan,and 6% in Maldives according to World Bank figures. While Sri Lanka ranks high on female literacy (98%) and female life expectancy (77%), it is a cause for concern that the political participation of women is one of the lowest in South Asia and indeed the world.
It is time that we, as a nation striving towards development, good governance and democracy, increase the representation of women in Parliament. There is no democracy without fair representation of women at the highest levels of Government. There is no good governance unless marginalized voices are given a chance to speak. There is no development unless women can contribute to Sri Lanka as equal representatives in Government.
The Vote for Women Campaign will be launched on the 5th of August 2015, at the BMICH Committee Room C from3.30- 5.00 p.m.The Vote for Women Campaign includes a social media platform – FacebookFacebook.com/VoteWomenSL, Twitter @vote_women_sl, and Instagram votewomensl– engaging youth and the general voting public with news, public polls, statistics and informative articles about the need to increase the participation of women in politics. The Vote for Women Campaign will also promote women’s representation in politics through a theme song – ‘ChandetaAruthak’ – to be broadcast over radio and television. This will also be provided free of charge to any female politician, regardless of political party affiliation,if they wish toplay it at their public engagements. In addition, the Vote for Women Campaign will produce a 30-second, dialogue-free promotional video offered free of charge to TV stations, social media forums and female candidates regardless of political affiliation, encouraging the public to vote for capable female representation in politics.
The Vote for Women Campaign hopes to encourage more women to seek nominations in future elections, and to enhance political discourse in Sri Lanka by ensuring greater representation and participation in Parliament from 2015 onwards. The Campaign is a joint initiative of Search for Common Ground, Women and Media Collective and the Association of War Affected Women.
--/END/--
For more information, please contact:
SulochanaColombage: tel:(011) 2690192| mob:071 4259911| email:
NadarajaManiwannan: tel:(011) 2506600| mob:077 3357400| email: