By Nimalka Fernando –
Dr. Nimalka Fernando
The Committee Stage of the Ministry of Women & Child Affairs budget will be up for debate in 2025. According to the Estimates/Appropriation Act (First Schedule):
* 2025 – Ministry of Women & Child Affairs: Recurrent LKR 15,234,000,000 + Capital LKR 842,000,000 → Total LKR 16,076,000,000.
* 2026 – Ministry of Women & Child Affairs: Recurrent LKR 15,800,000,000 + Capital LKR 600,000,000 → Total LKR 16,400,000,000.
Percentage of the First-Schedule Budget
The above totals are part of the First Schedule, which consolidates all ministry recurrent and capital allocations:
* 2025: Total First-Schedule government spending = Recurrent LKR 2,898,098,018,000 + Capital LKR 1,320,150,000,000 = LKR 4,218,248,018,000.
Ministry of Women & Child Affairs as a share: 16,076,000,000 ÷ 4,218,248,018,000 × 100 = 0.381% (~0.38%)
* 2026: Total First-Schedule government spending = Recurrent LKR 3,028,753,468,000 + Capital LKR 1,405,603,000,000 = LKR 4,434,356,468,000.
Ministry of Women & Child Affairs as a share: 16,400,000,000 ÷ 4,434,356,468,000 × 100 = 0.370% (~0.37%)
The above information was obtained via Google search. If there are errors, I humbly request Treasury authorities and the Minister to correct me.
The moral issue arises from this glaring 0.3698% allocation for 51% of the population. Not all women in Sri Lanka are standing in front of the Ministry with a begging bowl, but all women—across categories and ages—contribute immensely to the economy. They do so as workers, as unpaid caregivers, and as household managers who maintain homes without earning a formal wage.
A modern feminist economic perspective calls for including these contributions in national financial planning. Here, I refer to women employed across all sectors as “workers” in a broader sense.
The National People’s Power (NPP) Manifesto, A Thriving Nation, A Beautiful Life (p. 43, Gender Equality / Impartial Human Identity), states:
“Although women are an integral part of society, they consistently occupy an unequal position due to marginalization within major socio-economic, cultural, and political systems. The NPP proposes a political practice that represents all marginalized groups in society, aiming to realize the aspirations of a just society, a free country, and free women by securing all rights.
Gender identities and sexual orientations are diverse. In Sri Lanka, these groups often face violence, marginalization, and stigmatization. Outdated colonial laws, institutional frameworks, and regressive cultural beliefs contribute to the denial of justice to these communities.”
The manifesto also lays out key principles:
* Economic justice as a cornerstone for achieving gender equality.
* State policies acknowledging the value of unpaid care work in the national economy.
* Legislation ensuring fair and equal treatment for all marginalized groups.
On p. 5, under “An Empowered Woman,” the NPP pledges to:
* Abolish all forms of gender discrimination.
* Relieve rural women from the burden of unfair microfinance loans.
* Initiate measures to address and end period poverty.
* Provide financial support for nutritious food during pregnancy.
* Establish childcare centers at the Grama Niladhari (local) level.
Summary of NPP Pledges
* Gender Equality Legal Reform: Reform discriminatory laws, create comprehensive gender-equality legislation, and establish a strong institutional body (National Women’s Commission).
* Economic Empowerment: Increase women’s workforce participation by reducing barriers via childcare, financing, and training.
* Social Policy: Support social infrastructure (e.g., childcare) to enable women’s labor participation.
* Child Protection: Commit to community-based child safety, involving families and systematically monitoring child-wellbeing programs.
The agenda is impressive. However, governments reviewing the Beijing Platform for Action were reminded that commitments to women’s rights must be reflected in budget allocations. The process called Gender Budget was initiated several years ago as a benchmark to overcome this challenge. Therefore from this perspective we have to raise this question. Can the Ministry fulfill these pledges with only 0.3698% of the budget? Clearly, this is impossible.
A 2000 UNIFEM gender budget analysis revealed that 80% of the Ministry’s budget goes to recurrent expenditure, leaving only 20% for actual welfare programs for women. As a woman activist who has continue to monitor the budget, process knows even now this is the ratio. Often the Ministry raises funds from external sources for projects. This raises a serious question: how will the National Women’s Commission monitor and implement these commitments? Donor funding will likely play a major role—but donors are not neutral.
When the Good Governance Government established the Office on Missing Persons, the late Mangala Samaraweera allocated significant funds. Yet, due to Treasury red tape, these funds could not be accessed effectively. Will the same fate await the National Women’s Commission?
No specific allocation is reflected in the 2026 budget. While women’s organizations and activists who supported the NPP are excited about the establishment of the NWC, the law was ultimately passed due to the political will of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe. This initiative, first launched by UNP regimes and repeatedly obstructed by the SLFP, finally passed Parliament despite a challenging economic context. Whether the NPP supported it in Parliament I am not sure.
I am rushing this article to the Colombo Telegraph since according to the order paper the Ministry debate is going to take place this week may be on the 19th. It is important to review how much was spent in 2025 and how much the Minister intends to spend in 2026. These are questions we need to raise.
The budget debate is also taking place in a context where I have received reliable information related to growing repression in the investment promotion zones and garment factories. A woman workers in the Brandix Factory died after being admitted in hospital. Two workers who were going to participate in a gender training workshop was threatened and letters were obtained forcing them to write that they were going to participate in an improper activity by a garment in the Koggala Zone. Similar events have been reported in other areas.
What is our hope for the future?
*Nimalka Fernando – Attorney-at-Law
