Empowering women is one of the main priorities of the government, Minister of Finance Mangala Samaraweera said yesterday at an event held in Matara.
Samaraweera made this remark while distributing certificates and industrial equipment sets to women who had successfully completed technical training under the "Empowering Women through Technical Training" programme that was initiated in Matara and Moneragala districts.
The Minister stated that even though Sri Lanka has the honour of electing the first female prime minister of the world, more often than not, women here had been confined to the kitchen and pointed out the idea that women cannot do mechanical work is an outdated opinion and the government has taken measures to assist the women who would like to receive training in such male-dominated sectors.
"We still treat women as second class citizens. There is this perception that women are incapable of doing what men can do. In the past thirty years, I have been to this very auditorium to distribute sewing machines and household appliances. We are just propagating the stereotype that they belong in the kitchen. But we know that there are women police commissioners in certain countries. Hence, it is abundantly clear that we can no longer limit certain professions to women", he added.
The technical training programme done in collaboration with the Women's Affairs Ministry, National Authority on Road Safety and David Pieris Motor Company (Pvt) Limited saw 64 women pass out as trained technicians in repair of three wheelers.
Samaraweera introduced many proposals to involve women further in the economy through budget 2019, including the government funded maternity expenses in the private sector and further concessions for women led businesses via the Enterprise Sri Lanka credit schemes.
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