EU support for women’s political

participation and leadership under the

EU’s Gender Action Plan
A case study on Sri Lanka

2021
The European Democracy Hub is a joint initiative of Carnegie Europe and the European
Partnership for Democracy. It acts as a focal point for work on democracy, bringing together
analysts and policymakers engaged with EU democracy support and democratic challenges
in Europe.

2021 © European Democracy Hub

This study was written by Doctor Pradeep Peiris, with input and editorial support from Saskia Brechen-
macher, Aoife Curtis, Ken Godfrey, Ruth-Marie Henckes, Jehan Jegatheesan, Erin Jones, Shafaq Kiani,
Elisa Lledo, and Nikhita Salgame.

The research was funded by Demo Finland, Political Parties of Finland for Democracy.
 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA 3

Contents

Women’s political participation: emergence and evolution 4

The EU’s actions on women’s political representation and leadership 7

Challenges and remedies: increasing women’s political representation 13

Recommendations and conclusions 15

4 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA

Women’s political participation:

emergence and evolution

This paper assesses the European Union’s (EU) role in advancing women’s political participation and
representation in Sri Lanka under the EU’s Gender Action Plan II. The paper briefly reviews the evolution
of women’s political participation in Sri Lanka, before examining the overall focus of EU development
assistance and its contributions to bolstering women’s political participation in the country. The essay
concludes with the broader challenges hindering international support for gender equality in Sri Lankan
politics and explores avenues to overcome those challenges.

Although Sri Lanka has gone through major Despite their underrepresentation in formal politics,
political changes throughout the twentieth women are very active at the community level and in
century, the representation of women at every civil society. Many Sri Lankan women are members
level of governance remains abysmally low. The of multiple voluntary welfare associations, including
country’s transition to democracy began in the death-assistance societies, rural development
early twentieth century, when the island was still a societies, women’s welfare societies, thrift and
British colony. Women, along with trade unions and saving associations, as well as associations linked
associations of marginalised caste communities, to political parties. At 33.5 percent, women’s
played central roles in the campaign for universal overall labour force participation is relatively low,
voting rights and broader democratic reforms. In though women do play active economic roles in
the first ever election held in 1931, seventeen years rural areas.2 State institutions, international donor
prior to independence, two women were elected agencies, as well as nongovernmental organisations
to the country’s State Council. After achieving have all supported initiatives to increase women’s
political independence in 1948, new political parties economic empowerment, for example through
proliferated. Yet, the representation of women in Sri rural banking and community saving schemes.
Lanka’s legislature stalled, and it has not increased At the national level, women used to be the chief
much more than the five percent mark reached in contributors to the country’s top three economic
1931. Over the past few decades, policymakers and sectors: tea production, the garments industry,
party leaders have often paid lip service to the need and migrant workers, which generate both
for legal and institutional change and have been domestic and foreign income.3 However, the last 10
reluctant to carry out concrete reforms that would years have seen a sharp decline of 10% in female
advance democratic inclusion.1 labour force participation rates, including in the

1 Kamdar, B., (2020): “Women in Sri Lanka Make up 56% of Voters, But Only 5% of Legislators,” The Diplomat, 25
September 2020, available here.

2 “Labour Force Participation Rate, Female (% of Female population Ages 15+) - Sri Lanka,” data retrieved 15 June
2021, available here.

3 Samarasinghe, V. (1998): “The Feminization of Foreign Currency Earnings: Women’s Labor in Sri Lanka,” Journal of
Developing Areas (32, no. 3), p. 303-326. Available here.
 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA 5

sectors mentioned above.4 Moreover, Sri Lankan increased the political representation of marginalised
women have also played active roles in Sri Lanka’s caste groups and minority communities, it has failed
internal conflicts and its contentious politics. Since to strengthen women’s legislative representation.7
independence, the country has experienced two Political parties remain hesitant to nominate women
armed uprisings in the Sinhalese South (in 1971 and as candidates: a lack of intra-party democracy
1987-1988) and a protracted Tamil insurgency in the and highly competitive and expensive election
North and East (1983-2009). Women participated campaigns lead (male) party leaders to favour male
in both these armed uprisings both as combatants candidates. Political violence, financial barriers, and
and in supporting roles.5 Yet, their participation in cultural prejudices against women in politics have
armed mobilisation has not translated into greater further prevented women from benefiting from the
representation in electoral politics. PR system.8

Women’s rights activists have pushed for an

Current Trends in Women’s Political electoral gender quota to address these barriers. So
Participation far, their demands have only been met at the local
level. As a result of a 2016 electoral amendment, Sri
As of 2021, women make up only 5.3 percent of Lanka instituted its first quota for women in local
parliamentarians in the Sri Lankan legislature, and government, which mandates that 25 percent of
only one woman currently serves in the 28-member elected legislators in local government should
executive cabinet. Women also represent only 4 be women.9 Although not all local councils have
percent of councillors in the country’s provincial complied with the quota requirement, the measure
councils.6 Although the proportional representation has increased women’s representation in local
(PR) electoral system introduced in 1989 has government from 2 percent in 1989 to 24 percent in

4 Solotaroff, J. L., Joseph, G., Kuriakose, A., Sethi, J. (2020): “Getting to Work: Unlocking Women’s Potential in Sri Lanka’s
Labor Force.” World Bank. P.18. Available here.

5 Alexander, E. (2014): “Women of War: The Female Fighters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,” Cornell International
Affairs Review Vol. 7 No. 2. Available here.
De Alwis, A. (2002): “The Changing Role of Women in Sri Lankan Society”, Social Research, Vol. 69, No. 3, The Status of
Women in the Developing World, pp. 675-691.

6 Democracy Reporting International, “Improving women’s political participation in Sri Lanka,” October 2021. Available
here.

7 The proportional representation (PR) electoral system was introduced in 1978 under the second Republican
constitution, though it was only implemented in 1989 (no parliamentary elections were held between 1977 and 1989).

8 Chulani Kodikara, C. (2009): “The Struggle for Equal Political Representation of Women in Sri Lanka: A Stock
Taking Report for the Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Empowerment and United Nation Development
Programme,” p. 18-20, Colombo: Ministry of Child Development and Women’s Empowerment.

9 The new electoral system requires parties to submit two lists of candidates: one list for wards with single-member
constituencies in each area, of which 10 percent have to be women, and the second for candidates elected based on
proportional representation, of which 50 percent have to be women. In addition, parties submit a third, separate list of
only women candidates. Vijeyrasa, R. (2020): “Women’s absence in Sri Lankan politics: Lessons on the effectiveness
and limitations of quotas to address under-representation,” Women’s International Studies 81, p.5.
6 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA

2018.10 There are now 1,926 female local councillors quota law has forced parties to recruit more women,
serving in local government across the country.11 The it has also undercut their political influence, as
Women Parliamentarian Caucus, set up by women women elected through proportional representation
politicians in 2020, aims to push for similar electoral lists are treated by male leaders as second-class
reforms at the national level.12 So far, advocates’ politicians.15
reform proposals have not succeeded and an effort
to implement a 25 percent gender quota for women Finances represent another significant barrier. Due
in provincial councils has stalled.13 to the patronage-based politics of most Sri Lankan
political parties, contesting an election has also
become a very costly enterprise. Candidates have
Barriers to Women’s Political to campaign across a wide geographical area and
Representation use their own resources to mobilise and consolidate
their electoral base. As women tend to have less
Barriers to women’s political participation in Sri access to independent wealth as well as political
Lanka include the undemocratic nature of political donor networks, they are often discouraged from
institutions as well as patriarchal norms in society running for political office.16 Intensive inter- and
writ large. Sri Lankan political parties have gaps in intra-party competition and violence in electoral
institutionalisation and can be seen to function to politics also works against women aspiring to
a large extent as networks of powerful men.14 As a become political leaders, particularly as there are
result, few women get the opportunity to advance few support services or accountability mechanisms
through party structures, unless they happen to be for women targeted with political violence or
related to a male member of a party’s leadership. sexual harassment. Lastly, both men and women in
Therefore, women nominated by political parties Sri Lanka are still socialised to see politics as the
as candidates are often the wives or daughters of legitimate sphere of men rather than women.17
established (male) politicians. Although the local

10 Despite this quota, many local authorities found it difficult to meet the 25 percent threshold. At the moment, women
make up 24 percent of local government representatives.

11 Interview with Manjula Gajanayake, the National Coordinator of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence, 17th
September 2021 (via Zoom).

12 Women Parliamentary Caucuses have a long history in Sri Lanka, with a new caucus set up with every new Parliament.

13 Democracy Reporting International (2021): “Improving women’s political participation in Sri Lanka,” p. 4. Available
here.

14 Chulani Kodikara, “Women and Politics in Sri Lanka: The Challenges to Meaningful Participation,” Groundviews,
2 September 2008, available here, and Wimala De Silva, “Participation of Women in Politics and Decision Making in
Women, Political Empowerment and Decision Making,” (Colombo: CENWOR, 1995): 1-53.

15 Democracy Reporting International (2021): “Improving women’s political participation in Sri Lanka,” p. 8. Available
here.

16 Find out more about the costs of running for election in Sri Lanka: Jayasinghe, C. (2020): “Candidates spend Rs 2.2
bn over Sri Lanka’s polls campaign period,” Economynext, available here.

17 Kodikara, The Struggle for Equal Political Representation of Women in Sri Lanka, and Peiris, P. and Lacamwasam, H.
(2021): “Necessary yet Insufficient: Women’s Quota for Wider Political Representation in Sri Lanka,” Colombo: Women
and Media Collectives, available here.
 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA 7

The EU’s actions on women’s political

representation and leadership

Gender equality has been a long-standing priority initiatives funded solely by the EU or in collaboration
of Western donors active in Sri Lanka. Yet over the with other EU member states since 2017 (see Table 1).
past five years, only a few EU-funded projects have This overview shows that from 2017 until 2021, there
directly addressed women’s political participation have only been three EU-funded programmes that
and leadership. Instead, the EU’s main assistance directly foreground women’s political participation,
priorities in Sri Lanka have been the peace and in addition to a wider range of projects that focus
reconciliation process, agricultural development, on sexual and gender-based violence and women’s
and responding to people’s basic needs, such as socio-economic empowerment, and broader
water, health, and nutrition. The table below provides governance and health programmes that integrate
an (non-exhaustive) overview of gender-related gender as a cross-cutting or secondary goal.

Table 1: Gender-related EU assistance programmes in Sri Lanka

EU programmes targeting women’s political participation

Building Inclusive Communities and Promoting Women’s Leadership (2017-2021)

This project is funded by the EU and implemented by Chrysalis in partnership with the Law and Society Trust, and
the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Legal Reforms. The project seeks to address the root causes that inhibit
the rights of women and other marginalised communities as well as citizens’ fundamental rights more broadly.
Concretely, the project seeks to train 300 women and a 100 men to transform social norms and change the structural
barriers that fuel gender-based discrimination and undermine fundamental freedoms. To achieve these objectives,
the project supports eighteen “Shared Advocacy Platforms” across five districts in Northern Sri Lanka.18

Network Engagement Transform (NET) Project (2016-2018)

This project was funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) and was
implemented by Chrysalis, an affiliate of CARE International. The objective of the project is to promote women’s voice
and meaningful political representation to prevent and address sexual and gender based violence in 6 Divisional
Secretary Divisions (DSDs) in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu Districts in the North of Sri Lanka. The project targeted 420
women leaders from 60 Women’s Rural Development Societies, Women’s Affairs Societies (WRDS/WAS), 6 Gender-
based Violence Forums, and other networks, including 60 State officials working for the benefit of 60,000 women.
Chrysalis partnered with the Women’s Action Network for Transformation (WANT) and the Community Development
Organisation (CDO) to implement a number of capacity building, awareness-raising and networking activities.19

18 “Building Inclusive Communities and Promoting Women’s Leadership” project funded by the European Union,
Chrysalis, available here.

19 Nucleus Service (2018): “Report: Final Evaluation of the Network Engage Transform (NET),” submitted to Chrysalis,
8 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA

Capacity Development for Local Government (2018-2023)

This project is co-funded by the EU with a budget of USD 6.11 million and implemented by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP). It aims to strengthen local government institutions as part of the EU’s wider
support for governmental decentralisation in Sri Lanka. It does so by pursuing action, such as the strengthening
of public participation in local decision-making processes. In order to increase women’s engagement in local
governance, the project provides targeted capacity development to elected women officials as well as mentorship
to potential women leaders. It also aims to sensitise male officials and ensure women’s involvement in participatory
planning and budgeting processes and allocates specific funds to projects proposed by local women leaders.20

EU programmes with a primary gender focus that do not target women’s political
participation
Inside Justice: Enabling Justice for Victim Survivors of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Sharing of The Asia
Foundation’s Experiences (2016-Present)
This project, run by The Asia Foundation with EU support, is focused on formal judicial reform to redress domestic,
sexual, and gender-based violence in Sri Lanka. The programme has developed a variety of resources targeting
lawyers, judges, development partners, and other stakeholders in order to improve victims’ access to fair and
sensitive judicial processes.21

Empower War-Affected Women in Sri Lanka (2018-2022)

This project, funded by the EU and SIDA with a budget of EUR 760,000 and implemented by We Effect Sri Lanka, aims
to empower Sri Lankan women to become entrepreneurs and leaders. It focuses on women in twelve cooperatives,
training them on issues like access to marketplaces, credit, farming skills, and dialogue with local authorities and
service providers.22

Enabling and Empowering a Business Environment to Establish and Sustain Income-generating and Employment
Opportunities for Vulnerable Communities in Uva and Central Provinces (2017-2021)
This project, implemented by CARE Deutschland-Luxemburg in Uva and Central Provinces with a budget of EUR 4.9
million, seeks to support sustainable, income-generating employment opportunities for vulnerable women, youth,
and their communities. It aims to increase the voices of women and youth in decision-making around employment
creation, business development, and economic growth.23

available here, available here.

20 “Capacity Development for Local Government,” project co-funded by the European Union, United Nations
Development Programme, available here.

21 “Inside Justice, SGBV in Sri Lanka,” The Asia Foundation, available here.

22 “Empower War-Affected women,” project co-funded by the European Union, We Effect, available here.

23 “Enabling and Empowering a Business Environment to Establish and Sustain Income-generating and Employment
Opportunities for Vulnerable Communities in Uva and Central Provinces,” project funded by the European Union, CARE
Deutschland-Luxemburg, available here.
 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA 9

EU programmes with gender as a crosscutting or secondary priority

Organisational Capacity Enhancement and Networking (2017-2020)

This EU-funded project, implemented by a coalition of three organisations, aimed to strengthen civil society’s role
in good governance and development in six regions of Sri Lanka. One of the project’s objectives was to ensure that
victims of gender-based violence and discrimination benefit from development plans.24

Accountability Through Community Engagement and Initiatives for Transition (2017-2020)

This EU-funded project aimed to mobilise civil society to hold the state accountable for ensuring victims’ rights. It
included training on trauma counselling for women police constables at women’s desks in police stations.25

Rehabilitation Services for People Affected by Trauma Resulting from Conflict or Structural Violence in the
Northern Province of Sri Lanka (2017-2020)
This EU-funded project aimed to support mental health services for community members suffering from trauma
and to improve psychological services for vulnerable communities, with a particular focus on involving women and
youth leaders.26

Empowering and mobilising individuals, small groups, and CSOs for better governance and accountability
(2017-2020)
This project funded by the EU’s Civil Society Organisations and Local Authorities programme was implemented
by Stichting ZOA. Its objective was strengthening CSOs as actors in governance, social development of women
and inclusive growth. The project also aimed to actively involve women in politics and policy-processes concerning
their communities. Activities included the promotion of women’s participation in politics, women’s involvement in
advocating for good governance, and training members of CSOs on constitutional reform and the electoral systems.
It also involved facilitating networking with other women’s groups, encouraging women to engage in social issues
that impact the whole community, and increasing women’s participation through Self Help Groups.27

24 “Organisational Capacity Enhancement and Networking (OCEAN),” project funded by the European Union, Sri
Lanka Centre for Development Facilitation, October 2019, available here.

25 “Accountability Through Community Engagement and Initiatives for Transition,” project funded by European Union,
National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, available here.

26 “Rehabilitation Services for People Affected by Trauma Resulting from Conflict or Structural violence in the Northern
Province of Sri Lanka,” project funded by European Union, Family Rehabilitation Centre, available here.

27 European External Action Service, “Empowering and mobilising individuals, small groups, and CSOs for better
governance and accountability,” August 2020, available here.
10 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA

Preventing electoral violence in Sri Lanka by advancing core electoral reform issues and strengthening the
integrity of the public discourse (2019-2021)
This project funded by the German Federal Foreign Office is implemented by Democracy Reporting International
in partnership with the Rural Women’s Front. This project’s primary aim is preventing electoral violence, and it has
a strong capacity building and awareness-raising component focused on women in politics. Namely, the project
conducts the training of a trainers’ programme on women in politics, establishing district-level groups of women
political representatives, conducting public discussions on electoral reforms, and increasing the effectiveness
of women politicians’ engagement on socio-political issues. It also includes support for local organisations for
workshops on mainstream media communication for women political representatives from local government bodies.
The project has also used interviews of key women political figures for awareness raising purposes on the radio, and
it has led an awareness raising campaign which uses animated videos that are based on the real experiences of Sri
Lankan women in politics.28

One of the EU-funded projects in Sri Lanka that by the European Instrument for Democracy and
directly focuses on women’s political leadership Human Rights, titled “Network, Engage, Transform”
is called “Building Inclusive Communities and (NET). This project focused on bolstering women’s
Promoting Women’s Leadership (TRANSFORM).” meaningful political representation in order to
This project, which is implemented by the Sri Lankan prevent and address sexual and gender-based
civil society organisation Chrysalis, seeks to address violence (SGBV) in the northern parts of the
the root causes that inhibit women’s agency at the country. It tried to achieve this goal through three
local level. The project’s activities have included main mechanisms: by strengthening women
leadership training and capacity building for women representatives’ leadership capacity, building local
community leaders and local councillors as well as networks and alliances focused on fighting SGBV,
the inclusion of women and girls in local community and advocating for the implementation of existing
development forums. The report that Chrysalis anti-SGBV laws. Overall, the project was relatively
produced, based on the project, has been presented successful at coaching and mentoring women
to the Provincial Women’s Caucus and awaits to be leaders, though increasing women’s participation in
presented to the Parliamentary Women’s Caucus. advocacy networks proved more challenging.30
This was done in order to facilitate the drafting of
new policies that address the gendered barriers that A third and ongoing EU-funded project contributes
women face at the local level.29 to women’s political participation and leadership as
a secondary goal. The UNDP’s five-year “Enhanced
TRANSFORM succeeded a previous project, which Local Governance” project primarily seeks to
was also implemented by Chrysalis and funded strengthen local governance, infrastructure, and
service delivery. Yet, it also includes activities aimed at

28 For an overview of Democracy Reporting International’s (DRI) activities in Sri Lanka, see here. DRI’s latest report
on the project: Democracy Reporting International (October 2021): “Improving women’s political participation in Sri
Lanka,” p. 8. Available here. Public awareness-raising campaign: available here.

29 Phone interview with Ashika Gunasena, the Chief Executive Officer of Chrysalis, September 15, 2021.

30 Nucleus Service (2018): “Report: Final Evaluation of the Network Engage Transform (NET),” submitted to Chrysalis,
available here, available here.
 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA 11

strengthening women’s participation and leadership studied the internal policies and practices of Sri
within local government institutions in the four Lankan political parties regarding gender equality.
participating provinces, primarily through training It thus includes a greater focus on political parties,
elected women officials and young women leaders. given their key role in selecting women candidates
The UNDP is also in the process of implementing a and promoting them to leadership positions.32
seed grant for local women councillors, who have
previously been trained on how to develop project In addition, Democracy Reporting International,
proposals. These seed grants are meant to assist with support from the German Government, has
women politicians initiate various projects in their also conducted “training of trainers” programmes
constituencies, thereby enhancing their credibility targeting women leaders, in partnership with the
and local support. The longer-term goal is to help Rural Women’s Front. The programme aims to
women councillors build their support base for increase women’s knowledge of existing electoral
future elections.31 reforms and regulations, but also fosters discussions
on campaign finance, gender equality, and the
Besides the three EU-funded projects cited above, broader hurdles women face in Sri Lankan politics.33
a few EU member states have also supported
women’s political participation and leadership
in Sri Lanka. The Finnish democracy assistance
organisation Demo Finland (in cooperation with
the local multi-party organisation One-Text
Initiative (OTI) launched a pilot project in 2019 that
focused on building multi-party networks between
local women politicians across twelve different
districts. The participating women councillors also
received training on Sri Lankan and international
gender equality frameworks and learnt how to
leverage traditional and social media in their
political campaigns. In 2020, Demo Finland and OTI
extended the project to focus specifically on building
the skills of women politicians, fostering greater
support for gender equality among party leaders,
and bolstering the coverage of women politicians
in local media. The new project has, for example,

31 Author’s Zoom interview with Buddhika Udayajith, local governance specialist at the UNDP, September 17, 2021.

32 Demo Finland, “Sri Lanka,” accessed November 13, 2021, available here. See also, here.

33 Democracy Reporting International (October 2021): “Improving women’s political participation in Sri Lanka,” p. 8.
Available here. The German government has also funded a project focused on strengthening the role of women in
addressing sexual and gender-based violence that includes training and empowerment for women police officers,
government officials, and support for civil society networks focused on fighting SGBV. More information here.
The authors received information that the Embassy of the Netherlands has also been supporting capacity building of
women councillors, however, we could not confirm this information or find any official information on such support.
World Bank data does confirm the Netherlands committed USD 28.586 to supporting women’s rights organisations in
2019, but microdata is unavailable.
12 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA

Challenges and remedies: increasing

women’s political representation

n Sri Lanka, women’s political representation is hand with democratic governance. This approach
still very limited, despite decades of advocacy by ignores the reality of patronage politics in Sri
civil society groups. Patriarchal norms and social Lanka, where parties tend to function as cartels. In
practices encourage women to play a passive this context, providing “good governance” training
role in the public sphere, whereas intimidation for women candidates may not necessarily help
and misbehaviour on the side of male politicians them succeed in electoral politics. For both men
generally goes unpunished.34 and women who rise through the party ranks, what
matters is not their commitment to democratic
Several cross-cutting challenges currently hinder politics or campaigning skills, but their blind loyalty
the effectiveness of external support for women’s to the current leadership.
political empowerment. First, projects often fail
to provide continuous and sustained support to As a result of these dynamics, local and national-
women political leaders. Instead, they tend to be level actors in Sri Lanka do not always agree on
conceived as one-off or short-term activities, such the best strategy for advancing women’s political
as two-day training workshops, which limits their participation. Some local women’s organisations
overall impact.35 Second, projects seeking to bolster view the recommendations of gender consultants
gender equality in politics have primarily contributed who work on the implementation of the EU’s Gender
to increasing women’s descriptive representation, Action Plan as out of touch with local realities. For
albeit to a limited degree. However, they have example, national-level gender consultants often
struggled to enhance women’s actual power and prefer to organise trainings on political participation
influence in politics36. Addressing this shortcoming for women active in local civil society organisations.
requires a more holistic approach that begins by Yet, some local actors argue that it would be more
strengthening women’s economic autonomy as effective to approach women who are already
well as their role in civil society and transforms connected to political parties and already have
patriarchal social norms and practices. substantial political influence, even though they
may not necessarily be as committed to democratic
Third, donor-funded programmes often assume values as women activists in civil society.37
that women’s political representation goes hand-in-

34 Author’s Zoom interview with a former EU GAP consultant and the current gender focal person at the EU Delegation
in Sri Lanka, September 20, 2021. The latest case of verbal abuse by male MPs against female MPs led the Chairperson
of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus in the Sri Lankan Parliament to write a letter to the Speaker of Parliament
calling out against the abuse. Colombo Page, “Women MP’s of Sri Lanka parliament call for action to prevent verbal
harassment from male colleagues”, available here, accessed on 29 November 2021.

35 Author’s Zoom interview with local women’s organization, September 24, 2021.

36 Author’s Zoom interview with a project implementing partner of the EU, September 21, 2021.

37 Author’s Zoom interview with a national-level US project partner, September 21, 2021.
 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA 13

Overall, women’s exclusion from political decision-

making will likely persist as long as parties are not
institutionalised and political careers remain highly
lucrative. Since the 1970s, political actors have
increasingly undermined the Sri Lankan civil service
and public administration, and political corruption in
the country is rampant. Over the past several years,
the country has experienced further democratic
backsliding, with the government further expanding
the powers of the executive and increasing the role
of the military in government.38

In this context, programmes seeking to improve

women’s political participation, therefore, need to
carefully consider the broader health of democratic
institutions. Ideally, they should be complemented
with efforts to democratise political parties and
electoral processes. If they wish to facilitate
meaningful change, donors also need to incentivise
state reforms in a similar manner to the European
Union, which has used its Generalised Scheme
of Preferences (GSP) to push for human rights
commitments. Moreover, local gender specialists
note that the EU Delegation should engage with the
government more proactively to promote gender
equality using its diplomatic tools.39 Unlike many
other donors, the EU Delegation tends to maintain
a neutral and limited dialogue with the government.

38 Selvarajah, A. and Jeyasundaram, B. (2020): “Authoritarianism Is on the Rise in Sri Lanka,” Jacobin, September 16,
2020, available here. Sanjeev, L. (2020): “Is Sri Lanka Becoming a De Facto Junta?,” Foreign Policy, available here. And
“Sri Lanka Parliament votes to strengthen presidential power,” Al Jazeera, October 22, 2020, available here.

39 Author’s Zoom interview with a gender specialist who work with local partner organization, September 28, 2021.
14 EU SUPPORT FOR WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN SRI LANKA

Recommendations and conclusions

Recommendations importance of women’s political participation, with

the broader aim of legitimising women’s political
Going forward, there are several steps the EU could involvement in the eyes of the electorate. Such
take to strengthen its support for gender equality in support needs to be sustained throughout electoral
Sri Lankan politics. cycles, rather than centring only on elections.

First, the EU needs to prioritise support for

democratic reform and a democratic culture more Conclusion
broadly. In particular, the EU should support the
democratisation of political parties and electoral Even though Sri Lankan women on average enjoy
processes; for example, by advocacy which higher living standards than their South Asian
targets party leaders to push for greater party neighbours, they continue to be largely excluded
institutionalisation or by supporting local-level from formal politics. Gender equality activists have
party members voicing their demands for internal long pushed for affirmative action measures, such
party reform. The Electoral Commission is likewise as gender quotas to improve women’s political
a potential ally in institutionalising a democratic participation. So far, their efforts have only borne
culture conducive to equal representation. fruit at the local level, with a new local quota
measure being implemented in 2018.
Second, as part of a stronger focus on democratic
reform and accountability, the EU should strengthen Under the second Gender Action Plan, the EU has
its political dialogue with the government regarding funded only a few projects that directly support
women’s political participation and leadership. women’s political participation in Sri Lanka. As a
Such political engagement could focus on the need result, the EU’s contributions towards strengthening
to advance electoral reforms at the national and women’s political participation have been
local level, or to implement measures that address comparatively weak. In the future, the EU could
violence and harassment against women in politics. expand its engagement by investing in project
activities that consider the country’s political culture,
Third, future support should focus on the structural and it could push for higher-level state reforms that
barriers inhibiting women’s political participation, will help democratise Sri Lankan elections whilst
such as the role played by family structures, religious opening up more space for women and other
leaders, as well as patriarchal societal norms. Legal marginalised groups.
reforms, while important, are unlikely to be sufficient
to ensure women’s equal political participation;
they need to be complemented with initiatives to
transform sociocultural and economic barriers. For
example, future programmes should also focus
on norm change and women’s representation in
the media. This should be done to emphasise the
Contact:

European Partnership for Democracy

No. d’entreprise: 0648.708.779

Rue Froissart 123-133B-1040

Brussels, Belgium

[email protected] | www.epd.eu