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| Sunday, 23 March 2003 |
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Will housewives be paid? by Jayanthi Liyanage Lawmakers are finally getting around to recognising the economic
contribution made by women who work at home. The invisibility of women's
work in areas such as housework, home gardening or "It is important to recognise a woman's invisible work as her work is a family surviving strategy," said Prof. Savitri Goonesekera, committee member of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). "Often we make heavy burdens on them and policy-makers must provide support systems to combine a woman's role in and outside home." A country which records 92% literacy and 51% educated is still focused on the male breadwinner. This concept has to move out, bringing in also the concept of female breadwinner, she said. With 2003 declared the Year of Employment, "Equal opportunity for women in all fields and at all levels of employment" was this year's theme for Women's Day. Minister of Rural Economy and Deputy Minister of Finance Bandula Gunawardene, observed that "When domestic labour is done by a domestic, that contribution becomes a component of the national income, but not when a housewife does it." A woman's multiple labour as housekeeper, chef, breadwinner, employer or employee, is a contribution which should be counted in the national income and supported to guarantee her future security. Minister of Women's Affairs Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake said that the Women's Charter would be empowered with legislation to transform it into a legal instrument, to enable the implementation of the principles and policies defined in the Charter and the "Kantha Diri Maga" action programme. She also added that special programmes for women will be lined up through Ministries of Samurdhi, Irrigation, Agriculture, Rural Development, Economic Affairs, Social Services and Education. "We will work to have 25% women representatives in politics and more than 55% women in decision-making positions by appointing more women to head institutions," said the Minister. "The very fact that a woman is a mother and nurtures a family, deprives her of job opportunities in institutions chasing economic goals." "Despite increased social sensitivity, changes in social values and cultural norms, institutional reforms in the public sector, adoption of progressive policies and legal reforms, gender equity at workplace remains an unmet goal," said Dr. Wijaya Jayatilaka, Director, Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. "Compared to men, the unemployment rate in women is double," said Frank F. Niranjan, Senior Research Officer, Sri Lanka Council for Agricultural Research Policy. "Unemployment is heavier among women with high educational qualifications which lowers their access to suitable jobs. For women with more than ten years of education, it is harder to find employment." Statistics collated by him show that in 1996, the highest percentages of unemployment were recorded in the South and Sabaragamuwa, 23% and 21% respectively. Women in the South and the North Central were the highest educated (A/L and above), 23% and 21% respectively. Women labour still concentrated in agriculture, with this sector recording 61% females in 1997. The majority of working women are still employees, not employers, with more single women among them. The private and corporate sector, NGOs of social development, informal and self-employed sectors are seen as a vibrant factor in the local socio-economic structure. As Prof. Goonesekera pointed out, with globalisation has risen a demand for para-professional training and graduates with information technology training. "Without para-professional training, we can't develop nurses and physio-therapists. Women without suitable professional training tend to get automatically chucked out from jobs created in the global competition, a factor which those developing employment policies must keep in mind." Low-incomed parents must be persuaded to educate their daughters, or else, they would end up in early marriage instead of education, she said. Minister Bandula Gunawardene spoke of the need for women to fill the non-traditional employment sector, such as bus or train driving. "Our women are encouraged mainly for garment work, cooking and sewing. We must change this image and role of women in society," he said. "If no training is provided, even our nurses will have to be imported. Population experts say that Sri Lanka will be the first Asian country to have a majority population of over 50 years by the year 2025, and workers will have to be imported for all employment sectors by then." Therefore, efforts are required to generate a more productive women contribution to the economy by creating social equity for women in education and all the employment opportunities. Equal opportunity is still lacking in local inheritance laws. Laws covering Mahaweli land too needed to be amended to provide greater security to women farmers. Dr. Jayatilaka's message also states that "Balancing multiple roles and sharing gender roles between men and women at family and community levels need to become the dominant social norms through appropriate institutional mechanisms such as education and training. Incorporating gender issues at all levels of the education system is vital to ensure a gender just mindset." The concept valid today is not that women should at all times be protected but that she should be liberated, said Minister of Justice, Judicial Reforms, National Integration, Buddha Sasana and the Leader of the House, W.J.M. Loku Bandara. "Even Lord Buddha has shown that she equals a man in attaining spiritual emancipation. During the Anuradhapura era, Buddhist nun Devesara was the envoy who journeyed through the perilous 'Silk Road' to take Buddhism to China." Citing from the "Theri Gatha" (a rejoicing of Buddhist nuns on attaining enlightenment), a repository rich with instances of female valour and astuteness, the Minister quoted Buddhist nun Soma. Taunted by Mara (devil) while striving for enlightenment, with the words, "How can a woman with the brain of a spoon handle (handi mita) comprehend Nirvana?", her retort was instant. "What male or femaleness is there in the mind which has attained Samadhi?" "Why limit women in politics to 25%?", the Minister questioned. "It should rise to 50% and next year, we hope to take some revolutionary decisions in this area," he promised. |
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agriculture was one of
the issues addressed at this year's Women's Day celebrations organised by
the Ministry of Women's Affairs at the BMICH on March 8.
