{"id":112366,"date":"2021-03-05T16:48:45","date_gmt":"2021-03-05T23:48:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=112366"},"modified":"2021-03-05T16:48:45","modified_gmt":"2021-03-05T23:48:45","slug":"international-womens-day-8th-march-2021-theme-a-challenging-world-is-an-alert-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/03\/05\/international-womens-day-8th-march-2021-theme-a-challenging-world-is-an-alert-world\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018INTERNATIONAL WOMEN\u2019S DAY \u2013 8TH MARCH 2021\u2019 -Theme \u201ca challenging world is an alert world\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sarath Wijesinghe President\u2019s Counsel, Former Ambassador to UAE and Israel, President Ambassador\u2019s Forum<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

First Woman Prime Minister in the world \n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First woman you see in life and the best friend thereafter is your\nmother who is so caring and lovely towards you for ever. Mother is a woman that\nchild loves most and she grooms and controls the world as the woman educating\nproducing and donating the child to the world be a productive citizen to the society\nand the world over. The entire world revolves round mother who moulds the\neducation and the future of the world having nurtured the children and\nstructured the family to be an example to the world and productive to all.\nMother is your first doctor, teacher and the best friend, you will never be\ndeserted. Whether you are poor and a prisoner, mother will not desert you that\nyou will witness in stories around prisons. Respect for your mother increases\nthe value of motherhood and womanhood. You can see mothers in front of prisons awaiting\nfor their children and sensitive stories among mother and prisoner sons with\nclose bonds despite the crimes committed and the way of life. Your sisters come\nnext in life and your beloved wife comes next to your mother who loves cares and\ntakes all burden on your behalf as the protector saviour and the best friend.\nThere is no life without a women in the world who is born to serve care and\nlove with endless unlimited love towards children giving priority in life. Why\na women\u2019s day when every day is their day for us with your mother sisters and\nwife your next mother and the protector. She bears children, feeds you and be in\nyour side till death in any season whether rich or poor. Good wife is a\nblessing and the best friend and the protector of you your life and property\nincluding your children. She will care you and defend at any circumstances even\nat fault due to excessive love and affection. World respect and cared her and\nSri Lankans historically are better in treating women. First Executive Prime\nMinister is from Sri Lanka (1960) who has been the best Foreign Minister ever\nhaving led the non-alignment movement with top world leader and her daughter HE\nChandrika Bandaraneika followed suit as the woman Executive President ever in\nSri Lanka, with no iota of objections or opposition from the people. We had the\nhistorical experience of with Queen \u2018\u2019Anula\u2019\u2019 during Anuradhapura era as the\nfirst Queen in 47 BC. Women were treated and cared equally historically and\ntraditionally by Sri Lankans with the religious backgrounds on equality to\nwomen by Lord \u2018Buddha\u2019 by giving equal position in the Buddha \u2018Sasana\u2019 after\nordination. Sanagamitta\u201d who brought the Boo sapling to us is ever remembered\nby Sri Lankans and Buddhists world over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chief Justice – a woman <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Labour, education, employment, and many productive and popular\nsectors women in Sri Lanka are in the lead performing may be better than men counterparts.\nSri Lanka has shown above any other nation in the globe equality in treating\nwomen equally unlike many countries with restrictions to women. Madam Shirani\nBannaraneike has been the Chief Justice with many female Supreme Court Judges\nthe Attorney General, Legal Draftsman, and many judicial appointments were held\nby women with large number of lady lawyers in the Bar. Majority of lawyers are\nwomen in excellent positions in public and private sector. Currently there are\nfour sitting members of Parliament in the parliament from either party with the\nSecretary General once held by a woman having performed the job exceptionally\nwell. These few examples show that women in Sri Lanka Is treated equally and\nwith their performances not second to men in any respect. 70% labour within\n52.1% are women in the woman percentage of 67% showing the productivity and the\nsacrifice made to the family and the nation. Women in the Middle East is\ntreated differently due to religious practices and in the Indian sub continent\nthe situation is no better with domestic violence, ill treatment and unequal\ntreatment despite the fact that  India  produced a lady Prime Minister. 6.7 million Domestic\nworkers are in Arabian countries with 80\/% women \u2013many Sri Lankans going\nthrough immense hardships from the employers due to lack of training, not\nhaving proper contracts and less supervision from the Sri Lankan embassies\nexpected to supervise the wellbeing of the Sri Lankan community. Sri Lanka must\ntake a policy decision on the domestic employment as the families are broken\ndown and the children are at the risk of even from their won relations and\nfriends we come across in media. There are many ladies in detention centres in\nEmbassies and prisons in host countries. Today due to Covid 19 some are\nhomeless in Middle East countries, living in parks and roadside with no proper\nshelter of income. They were a main source of our income once in place of\ntraditional crops which are now replaced by now kinds or revenue such as\napparels, export of crops, tourism, IT field ect. We have sent our mothers and\nsisters for   employment in Middle East\nwhen we need them most for agriculture development and industries and industry\nwhich is booming today. It is high time to take a comprehensive plan and a policy\ndecision in the interest of women and children stranded in host countries. Among\nprofessionals 64% are women and out of professors and lecturers 336588 are women\nand men comprises of only 174644 showing the women power. In labour forces too\nwomen are in the majority with more females in labour force than men. Women in\nsports are in high positions with Susanthika\u201d obtaining the Olympic Gold Medal\nand the women cricket team ever improving. We have women in Police, Army and to\nour pride there is a women DIG against whom a group of male senior police\nofficers have filed a fundamental rights case. Woman DIG may use the same\narticle to find the way for her success to confirm as the first women DIG Ms\nBimshani Jasin Arachchie who has been doing a yeoman service to women and chidden\nwho is now fighting a legal battle hold on to the position. With all these\npleasant stories there are unpleasant sides of the plight of women in the areas\nof family life, domestic violence, on prostitution, rounding up on suspicion to\nbe in massage clinics and offers on prostitution by organized criminals using innocent\nwomen in employment and students. FB and social media is playing a pivot role\nin endangering innocent women as prey for the playful men resulting disasters\nand break up of marriages. There are 40, thousand prostitutes active with 44%\npregnant women undergoing domestic violence in the hands of husbands and boyfriends.\nThese are dark sides or our women who should be credited to bring foreign\nexchange from employment abroad and here with her sweat is commendable. What\nabout the great women in front lines fighting against Covid with a\ncomparatively good success rate? Sirimova Bandaraneika, Srima dissanayake who\nattempted to succeed her late husband\u2019s Gamini, Jayanthi Utampala first lady\nSri Lankan to reach Mount Everest, Marine de Levera winner of international\nwinner on awards on courage, Otara Gunawardena founder of ODEL, Geetha\nIllaperuma of Rajagedera Pannipitiya owner of a top restaurant, both top entrepreneurs,\n Dr Sudrashani  Fernandopullie State Minister, Dr Seetah\nAramabapola State Ministerr, Vijara Chithrasena, Dr Prasenthi Mendis world renowned\nmusician, Mrs Nonis former leader of the House wives Association, Shiranthi\nRajapaksa Rosy senanayaka,  Aruni\nrajapaksa nee Samarawikrama all former beauty Queens, Damayanthi Perera a\nfamous expert of food and hygiene , Indra Ghandi, Marget thather , Angila Markel\nLady Shaka Lubna from UAE who visited Sri Lanka with a trade mission are some famous\nnames to be remembered by Sri Lankans on the world women\u2019s day today.\nViharamadevi, Queen Kuvani, Somawathis devi, are fondly remembered with late\nRuckmini Devi and Malini Fonseka are fondly remembered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the west young leave home for independence early in life unlike in\nSri Lanka mother insists in living with children until maturity. In Sri Lanka\nthe situation is different. For a Sri Lankan mother child is her child even\nmaturity and it is the duty of the children to look after parents until they\npeacefully depart, with the strength on the mother as the live wire always. In\nwest mother is seen with flowers on mother\u2019s day in Sri Lanka it is the duty of\nthe children to look after parents which is the strong culture due to the bond\ncreated by mother with the family. In Sri Lankan culture and way of life\nhusband is the head of the family but always it is the mother\u2019s word that\nprevails on all the matters indicating the position held by the woman in the\nfamily and the society. Motherhood is the biggest gamble in the world would\nneed to take the child forward to the most beautiful world, and the way  a child is develop can be largely attributed to\nthe role them other plays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri Lankan women were in leading positions at all times in all fields even\nwhen the west took long for women to reach the limelight. Adelin Molamura was\nelected to the Parliament in 1931 when UK was considering to give adult franchise\nto women. Queen Elizabeth visited Sri Lanka which has been a celebrated event\nto all Sri Lankans. There were number of world leaders held positions including\nSirimova Bandaraneike, Indra Gandi, Magret Thatcher, Vigda Finogdotta Iceland, Angaal\nMarke Germany, Cillia Johsn Siveaf of \nLiberai, are some one time world leaders held the prestigious positions successfully\nas leading able women. But the situation in Sri Lanka today is sad and\npathetic. Elderly women are helpless on roads and ill  equipped home of elders when in the UK there\nis an excellent scheme in practice with the cooperation of the local bodies and\nNHS an ideal system to be followed in Sri Lanka. Bitter news on Devi children\u2019s\nhome and the stories on elders in the road and elder homes are worrying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today 100 counters celebrates the women\u2019s day for gender equality  seeking equality and against  suppression from families , husbands and oppressions\ndue to family customs such as honour killings in Pakistan and  female circumcision in African countries\nwhich are unhealthy  inhuman and cruel.\nDue to world trends women grouped and organized together and in1908 15000 women\nmarched towards demanding equality, which subsequently y taken over by UN at 65th<\/sup>\nsession on the status of omen. Today women are organized and celebrating the\nday worldwide. Sri Lankan Embassy in Israel celebrated the women\u2019s day in 2014 Malini\nForsake and Geetha Illeperuma\u201d making the speeches on main themes. The theme of\nthe day is a challenged world is an alert world\u201d and we are responsible for\nour own action. In 2014 Consumer Affairs Authority organized women\u2019s day with\nthe help of Mrs Rajis Nonis and Sri Lanka house wife\u2019s association and it is a\npity that women in Sri Lanka is forgotten today suggesting groups to celebrate\nthis at least next year. It is time for women in Sri Lanka to face challenges\nbeing alert to the challenges faced by women and the country over on all\nfronts, there are personal challenges on women by media, society and\nperpetrators includes employers and people with disturbed abnormalities with\nabnormal mind-sets thereby a women is to be alert all the time in life and\nfuture developments. Let us assist our women including our mother wife and\nsisters for a prosperous and peaceful life in the successful post covid\nsociety. Let us celebrate a better and happier women\u2019s day in 2022 with\ncolours.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sarath Wijesinghe President\u2019s Counsel, Former Ambassador to UAE and Israel, President Ambassador\u2019s Forum First Woman Prime Minister in the world  First woman you see in life and the best friend thereafter is your mother who is so caring and lovely towards you for ever. Mother is a woman that child loves most and she grooms […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sarath-wijesinghe"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}