Women in Sri Lanka make up to 52.09% of the population according to the 2012 census of Sri Lanka.^[7] Sri Lankan women have contributed greatly to the country's development, in many areas. Historically, a masculine bias has dominated Sri Lankan culture, and they are allowed to vote in election since 1931.^[8] Although Sri Lanka has been tremendously successful in achieving greater gender parity, women still suffer a lower status compared with men.^[9]

Quick Facts General Statistics, Maternal mortality (per 100,000) ...

Women in Sri Lanka

Three Sri Lanka women work at garment factory
General Statistics
Maternal mortality (per 100,000)	36 (2017)[1]
Women in parliament	5% (2021)[2]
Women over 25 with secondary education	99% (2010)[3]
Women in labour force	34.1% (2014)[4]
Gender Inequality Index[5]
Value	0.383 (2021)
Rank	90th out of 162
Global Gender Gap Index[6]
Value	0.670 (2022)
Rank	110th out of 146

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In 2017, Sri Lanka was raked the world's 11th safest country for women by the New World Wealthy research group.^[10]

Over two millennia ago, Sinhala women mostly of royal and noble rank enjoyed certain individual liberties and social opportunities approximating to that of equality with men. Sinhala women participated with men in many public matters, enjoyed an independent status as women, as mothers, and had an identity in private and public life, and the freedom to choose one's way of life. After the establishment of Buddhism, they made another progressive move, to renounce lay life and seek ordination. The effective strides they made socially, culturally, and politically from about 300 B.C. in the little island of Sinhala could be primarily attributed to Buddhist tenets and the Buddhist ethos. Women to a large degree were beneficiaries of this great humanism. Historical evidence suggests that there had been six queens ruling the island in the past. From infamous Queen Anula (47 BC – 42 BC) to Don Katharina (Kusumasana Devi) (1581) who ruled the country from Kandy. Queen Leelawati (1197–1212) the wife of King Parakramabahu (1153–1186), was the fourth queen of the island o Sri Lanka. She ruled the country from the second Kingdom Polonnaruwa of Sri Lanka.^[11]

The role of women in Sri Lankan society is a topic that has been debated and fought over for several centuries. During the British colonial period, for example, a significant strand of nationalist, anticolonial agitation centred on the role and status of Ceylon women, both within and outside the home. In the transition years following colonial rule, Sri Lankan policymakers introduced a social policy package of free health and education services and subsidized food, which dramatically improved women's quality of life.^[12] Compared to the rest of South Asian countries, Sri Lanka women are very well off, enjoying high life expectancy (80 years), nearly universal literacy, and access to economic opportunities, which are nearly unmatched in the rest of the subcontinent.^[13]

Expert agriculture and largely feminized labour forces in South Asia has expanded significantly in the last three decades. Men are twice as likely as women to be employed in Sri Lanka. (30-35%) The country's female labour force participation is lower than that of its regional neighbours like Nepal, China and Bangladesh. In fact, Sri Lanka has the 20th largest gender gap in labour force participation in the world. According to study, Sri Lanka could add 14% (US$20 billion) to its annual GDP by 2025 by increasing female labour force participation and the number of paid hours women work, as well as by adding women to higher productivity sectors. After India, this is the largest relative gain projected for the Asia-Pacific region. In the context of expected sovereign debt default where access to capital markets and multilateral loans will close-off government spending will fall economic gains of this scale cannot be ignored. In 2017, out of the 8.5 million females who were 15 years and above, only 3.1 million females were in the labour force, while only 2.9 million were employed. Out of this, as many as 1.5 million women were working in the informal sector.^[14]

The women's movement organized on Sri Lanka under the Ceylon Women's Union in 1904, and from 1925, the Mallika Kulangana Samitiya and then the Women's Franchise Union (WFU) successfully campaigned for the introduction of women's suffrage, which was achieved in 1931.^[15]