Govt act with responsibility to ensure women’s rights and benefits; President

President Maithripala Sirisena today said that the government will take the highest responsibility to ensure the women’s rights and benefits.

Speaking at the National Program to celebrate the International Women’s Day today at the Weerasinghe Playground in Ampara, he added that the new government is committed to protect women and children and safeguarding them.

The National Program was organized under the theme ‘Empowered Women – Sustainable Future’. He pointed out that the women in Sri Lanka are now performing a comprehensive task in every field including the social, economic, politics and culture, without being structured within the roles of a mother, sister, wife and daughter.

He said the women who are 52% of the entire population of the country are highly contributing to strengthen the national economy of Sri Lanka. He pointed out that all resources which earn foreign exchange to the country depend on the labour of the women. “The new government has launched large number of programs to bring our women into a great labour force, by strengthening of them”, the President said.

The President symbolically presented Certificates of Ownership to obtain export crop plants to six women under the ‘Dana Saviya’ program of the Ministry of Primary Industries.

The President also symbolically handed over certificates of loans to five Small and Medium Women Entrepreneurs in Ampara District by the People’s Bank with the aim of empowering women economically and the President similarly  symbolically handed over title deeds to four women marking the project to hand over houses to widows and female-headed households by the Ministry of Housing.

Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Chandrani Bandara presented a special memento to the President to mark the International Women’s Day 2016.