Today’s girl child is a woman tomorrow. Our future therefore is today. As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the International Day of the Girl Child on 11th October 2022, we, as Sri Lankans, amidst a severe economic crisis, must be cautious of the realities of the girl child in order to protect her rights.
Sri Lanka as a whole is challenged economically, socially and also politically. Nutritional intake of the average Sri Lankan household is reduced due to the unbearable inflation rates in the country. Fuel shortages and power cuts, among many other dilemmas, have only exacerbated these negative impacts.
Recent research and surveys confirm grave consequences of the economic crisis on the mental, educational and medical wellbeing of children in Sri Lanka overall. Undesirable health and nutritional status of the girl child impacts not only on her own wellbeing and productivity, but also on the future generations. Girl children are also increasingly subjected to harassment and sexual violence. Reports of sexual harassment have augmented over the years, particularly during this economic crisis. Social unrest resulting from such a severe economic crisis would only increase the incidence of violence and sexual harassment, and the girl child can be or rather is an easy vulnerable target. The human development indicators achieved by Sri Lanka over the years in terms of education and health are at risk of reversing in the face of this economic crisis. Especially, education might become a choice that the parents will have to make between their girl and boy child, unless the country’s situation is made better.
The Women Parliamentarians, however, believe that if given the right kind of support, these challenges can become great opportunities. Fortunately, there are a lot of supporters and well-wishers for Sri Lanka. We have strong supportive international organizations, development partners, and the corporate sector who were always there behind our development efforts. Therefore, as the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, we urge these supporters to come forward to provide the right kind of opportunities for our girls. We are ready as the representatives of people, especially of women and girls in Sri Lanka, to give leadership to such worthy initiatives.
The Women Parliamentarians Caucus advocated against period poverty in Sri Lanka since the national budget debate 2020. We did not stop there. We continued our advocacy. Finally, today, the government has decided to remove taxes on imported sanitary napkins and the raw material to produce them locally. We consider this as an immense achievement on behalf of the women and especially the girl child as period poverty was already a cause behind absence of girl children in schools even prior to the current economic crisis. In 2021, another key recommendation we advocated for is that the sanitary napkins be distributed free to all school children. Even though in this economic crisis, it might not be possible, we would still like to continue our advocacy on providing napkins free of charge at least for the poorest girl children in Sri Lanka.
Resilience coupled with creativity can breed success. Therefore, the adversities faced by Sri Lanka, as we Parliamentarians see it, are an opportunity at hand. On the International Day of the Girl Child we urge society as a whole to come together to protect and empower the girl child. We invite willing and capable organizations to step forward to join hands with us to use the resilience that is slowly developing in the country against this catastrophe, as a stepping stone to make the future of the girl child brighter than before.
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