MP Kaviratne and MP Dr. Amarasuriya also agreed on the point that this has influenced how political parties look at women politicians. Essentially, gender budgeting could be identified as a strategy and a process with the long-term aim of achieving gender equality related goals. Gender budgeting exists in various countries, at various administration levels and in various forms. Sri Lanka’s neighbour India, however, has an internationally-recognised gender budgeting system, which, according to international reports, not only influenced expenditure, but also revenue policies. For its part, Sri Lanka joined the Commonwealth’s gender budgeting pilot project in 1997 and over the years there have been discussions about making gender responsive budgeting systems at various public institutions.

Source: The Nation July 18, 2021 17:37 UTC