Since independence, women in Sri Lanka have made considerable progress in the social and economic spheres. 90% of them are now literate and their health indicators are impressive for a country at Sri Lanka’s current level of development. Sri Lanka has performed extremely well on the Millennium Development Goal on maternal mortality, which has seen extremely disappointing progress across the world. Women are also more visible than ever in the public domain. They are well represented in the public service; the medical; legal and teaching professions; the arts and a number of other areas. They have also made progress in the private sector, though they are under-represented at senior management levels. Progress has also been achieved in reforming gender discriminatory laws and there has been increased awareness of gender and women’s rights.

Historical Perspective
The end of the civil conflict, a government with a decisive majority and economic geography combine to provide Sri Lanka with an unprecedented opportunity to shift to a higher trajectory of growth and development.

It is encouraging that a recent parliamentary discussion both the Government and the opposition have signaled an interest in passing a Right to Information Law in Sri Lanka. The enactment of freedom of information legislation is bound to empower citizens and provide an essential element towards creating good governance. It is in this context that the Pathfinder Foundation is embarking on advocacy to accelerate the passage of this legislation.

Background
Decentralization/Devolution has been pursued in over 80% of developing countries. It has been an important element of the “democratization” that has taken place since the end of the Cold War. Greater emphasis has been placed on citizens as the source of legitimate state authority. There has been a considerable body of research on the impact of decentralization/devolution on poverty reduction, the quality of service delivery and conflict. The empirical evidence presents a mixed picture of the impact of these processes. This places a high premium on careful design of decentralization/devolution, with a particular emphasis on building local capacities. One clear message is that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. Specific local circumstances are a crucial determinant of the outcomes of such programmes. While decentralization/devolution has a mixed record overall, empirical evidence suggests that there are some areas where it is particularly effective: primary education; hospitals; local roads; markets; water supply and sanitation; and solid waste management.