Towards Responsive Citizens

Women’s participation in the political processes is key to sustaining peace in Sri Lanka. Women, however, are poorly represented in elected bodies in Sri Lanka both at the national level (with just 5 per cent of women in Parliament) and at the sub-national level (with 4 per cent of women in provincial councils). While the country had committed to addressing women’s underrepresentation by introducing laws that require quotas for women in elected bodies, efforts need to be made to ensure that these policies and laws are adequately implemented.

Towards Responsive Citizens was established in 2007 to promote and protect the rights of women, children and other vulnerable groups. The team consists of qualified lawyers who are dedicated to work in the areas of human rights, democratization and rule of law.

Towards Responsive Citizens is seeking support to address some of the challenges faced by women in getting elected to office. The proposed initiative will start with a dialogue with local women and key stakeholders to understand the particular challenges faced by women in Ampara, Batticalo and, Trincomalee. Based on these discussions, the organization will build the capacity of key identified women and provide policy recommendations to be implemented at both local and national levels.