The Prime Minister made these remarks in Parliament of Sri Lanka on March 5 while expressing her views on a proposal submitted by the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus of Sri Lanka, which advocates for the development of a National Care Policy.
Addressing Parliament, the Prime Minister said the proposal was particularly meaningful to her as she had spoken about the care economy in her first parliamentary speech six years ago, when the number of female Members of Parliament was significantly lower.
“At that time, even raising this subject was something new,” she noted.
Dr. Amarasuriya said it was encouraging to see that discussions around the care economy had strengthened over the years both within Parliament and in the public sphere.
“Today we have a stronger group, both inside and outside Parliament, to discuss these matters. The conversation has evolved to a stage where we are now able to present proposals for a national policy,” she said.
She added that the development of such a policy demonstrates the growing recognition of the importance of care work and the need to formally integrate it into national policy frameworks.
