Past governments failed to recognise women's contributions : Dissanayake

Presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake today (Oct 29) said past and present governments failed to recognize women, whom he said, have contributed largely to the country's economy.

"It is the women who are highly involved in the garment and plantation sectors, and engaged in foreign employment, enabling the country to generate more revenue," he told a Women’s Meeting in Kattankudy.

The event was organized by the National Front for Good Governance which is backing the National People’s Power (NPP) at the upcoming presidential election.

The NPP candidate observed that women have not been given recognition in the country’s workforce, and are being subjected to harassment and abuse. “In our country, 638 abortions take place daily. Women are living an insecure life,” he stressed.

Meanwhile, Dissanayake pointed out that the collective efforts of politicians and the public would be sufficient to defeat extremism. “The Police can be used as the last resort for security since they engage with the public,” he said.

Dissanayake pledged that he would not allow extremism to emerge in any community under his rule. “Our country can’t move forward without uniting all communities,” he emphasized.

The presidential candidate cited extremism as the only prevailing threat to national security and accused the past and the present governments for using it as a tool to gain political mileage.

“Our country has been beautified due to the existence of diverse cultures. We must accept all of them” he insisted.  

Further, Dissanayake pointed out that the people should be allowed to converse in either Sinhala or Tamil at government institutions, instead of giving prominence to one language.