PM Harini on Women’s Day 2025: “No woman is safe until every woman is safe”

On International Women’s Day 2025, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya emphasizes the urgent need for collective action to address gender-based violence, economic hardship, and political exclusion.

She highlights the importance of women’s leadership in shaping Sri Lanka’s economic recovery, digital transformation, and democracy, stressing that true progress is impossible without equal representation.

Reaffirming her commitment to gender-sensitive policies, she calls for systemic change beyond words—ensuring that women’s rights, safety, and voices are at the heart of national development.

Full statement from Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya on International Women’s Day 2025:

Today, as we mark International Women’s Day, we stand at a crucial moment in history. This is a time to come together—not just to celebrate the progress we have made, but to confront the deep structural inequalities as well as misogynistic ideologies that continue to shape the lives of women, in all their diversity—not only in Sri Lanka but all over the world.

Gender-based violence, economic hardship, and political exclusion disproportionately affect women—particularly those from rural communities, war-affected regions, plantations, and the informal labour sector. No woman is safe until every single woman is safe.

We must commit to protecting one another, ensuring that no one is left behind, and that the rights and safety of every woman are upheld. Women make up 52% of our population, and we received universal franchise in 1931. At the last election we were able to significantly increase the number of women in parliament.

While we celebrate that we need to acknowledge that it is still too low. Our democracy is incomplete when a significant portion of our citizens is excluded from leadership and decision-making. At a time when Sri Lanka is navigating economic recovery, climate change, digital transformation, and democratic challenges, we cannot afford to side-line half of our population.

Women’s voices, leadership, and agency are essential to overcoming these challenges and building a resilient future for all.

Feminist movements have long shown us that change is possible—but only when we challenge the status quo and demand systemic transformation. As the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, I reaffirm my unwavering commitment to advancing policies that center the rights and agency of women and girls.

This IWD, let us commit to transformative action—not just in words, but through gender-sensitive policies, budgets, and the lived experiences of all women and marginalized communities.

When women thrive, communities thrive. When women lead, nations transform. This International Women’s Day, let’s unite and move beyond words.

Let’s commit to real, lasting change—for the generations before us, for those fighting today, and for those who will come after.

Dr. Harini Amarasuriya
Prime Minister
Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
08th March 2025

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