The Deputy Minister of Mass Media of Sri Lanka Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne undertook an official visit to France to participate in the Fourth Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policies organized by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on 22 - 23 October 2025 in Paris. The Deputy Minister’s participation was consequent to an invitation extended by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka Vijitha Herath to participate in the Ministerial Conference, given Sri Lanka’s progressive stance on gender equality and women’s rights.
Deputy Minister Ariyarathne participated as a panelist in the First Plenary Session of the Ministerial Conference, titled “Ten Years of Feminist Foreign Policy: Resisting, Uniting and Acting in the Face of the Backlash”, with other distinguished panelists including the Deputy Foreign Minister of Mexico Maria Teresa Mercado Perez, and the Deputy Minister of National Defense of Canada Stefanie Beck. The panel, which was moderated by the Founder and CEO, Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative Lyric Thompson, also featured the Executive Director, UNFPA Diene Keita; the Executive Director, European Parliamentary Forum of Sexual and Reproductive Rights Neil Datta; and the Recipient of the French Marianne Prize for the Promotion of Women from Uganda Safina Virani.
Deputy Minister Ariyarathne in her intervention commended the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs for organizing the timely Conference “at a critical juncture when the rights of women are being challenged as never before in a complex geopolitical world.” Observing that Sri Lanka has long placed gender equality and women’s empowerment at the heart of its national identity, the Deputy Minister highlighted recent progress, including the doubling of women’s representation in Parliament, a 25 percent quota for women in local government, and the appointment of women to 38 percent of ambassadorial posts, a figure notably higher than the global average.
She noted that in the most recent general elections held in Sri Lanka, the number of women in Parliament nearly doubled, with 22 women now serving as Members of Parliament, breaking most importantly the long-held South Asian tradition of women entering politics through family ties. The Deputy Minister noted that the current Government has the largest number of women elected to Parliament, i.e., 19 women MPs, including a woman Prime Minister, two women Cabinet ministers, and one Deputy Minister, who come from diverse social and economic backgrounds including marginalized communities, having gained their posts through merit and commitment.
The Deputy Minister cited Sri Lanka’s comprehensive policy framework, i.e., the National Policy on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment; the Women’s Empowerment Act 2024; the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security, and the establishment of the National Commission on Women in 2025; as tangible evidence of the country’s sustained progress and accountability. She also highlighted the recognition of unpaid care work as a central component of the country’s national economic policy, and noted that efforts are made to integrate informal labour into national labour statistics, underscoring women’s vital contribution to the productive economy, particularly in the rural sector.
The Deputy Minister further highlighted that, amidst significant global and structural constraints, the Government has succeeded in building a vibrant grass roots women's movement called “Gehanu Appi Ekamitata”, meaning “Women we are one”, which seeks to strengthen women’s influence in governance and decision making, observing that “this may well be the first of its kind in South Asia”. She noted that this is a reflection of the Government’s “deep conviction that democratic transformation must be rooted in active engagement of women at every level of society”, and belief that “the best way to push back against resistance and to make progress is through a solidly grounded women's movement.”
Reflecting on the global context, the Deputy Minister stressed that this is a moment not only to celebrate progress, but also to renew our shared commitment and reflect on challenges. She emphasized that “a truly feminist foreign policy must have the capacity to subvert not only dominant structures and values, but also our own assumptions within them, with questions of reflexivity, positionality, and intersectionality remaining central to feminist thought and leadership”. In conclusion, she reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s “abiding commitment to global partnership and solidarity”, observing that, “Sri Lanka stands ready to continue this journey, to learn, to contribute, and to act alongside its global partners.”
The Key Note Address of the Conference was delivered by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot who noted that the multiplication of crises, combined with growing pushback against legal, political, and normative gains, continues to jeopardize past achievements and exacerbate existing disparities with regard to women’s rights. The Minister observed that the Conference will serve as a critical opportunity to reaffirm the collective commitment of States and their partners to uphold women’s rights and promote gender equality, and reinforce and expand international coalitions, which remain essential to sustaining progress. The Foreign Ministers of Spain, Morocco and Armenia joined the French Foreign Minister in addressing the Opening high-level segment of the Conference. The Conference, which offered an opportunity to reassert the shared determination to defend and promote women’s rights and gender equality, and “accept no regression”, brought together over 450 participants from 55 countries invited by the French Government, multilateral organizations, academia and civil society. The previous editions of the Conference were hosted by Germany in 2022, the Netherlands in 2023, and Mexico in 2024, respectively.
On the sidelines of the Conference, Deputy Minister Ariyarathne had several meetings with senior interlocutors from the French side. The Deputy Minister met the Minister Delegate (Vice Minister) for Francophonie, International Partnerships and French Nationals Abroad of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Éléonore Caroit on Thursday 23 October at the Foreign Ministry. The meeting entailed a productive discussion on issues of shared interest including bilateral cooperation; promotion of trade, investment and tourism; development cooperation; French language teaching; as well as cultural relations. The Deputy Minister congratulated Vice Minister Caroit on her recent appointment to the important post and extended her best wishes. She also extended an invitation to the French Vice Minister to visit Sri Lanka. Both parties reiterated their shared commitment to further consolidating and advancing the bilateral partnership.
The Deputy Minster also met the Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture Luc Allaire, who was accompanied by his team of senior officials, and had a lengthy discussion on matters related to media and information in the contemporary global context, including freedom of expression, combatting disinformation and challenges therein, application of media ethics, regulation of information, as well as means of sharing best practices. The Secretary General briefed the Deputy Minister on French and European Union legislation related to media and information, and pledged the support and cooperation of the French authorities to Sri Lanka in developing the country’s national media strategy, media ethics, and regulation of content online.
The Deputy Minister undertook a tour of the historic Senate building of France (Luxembourg Palace), on the invitation of the President of the France–Sri Lanka Friendship Group in the French Senate, Senator Vanina Paoli-Gagin.
The Ambassador of Sri Lanka to France and Permanent Delegate of Sri Lanka to UNESCO Manisha Gunasekera and senior diplomatic staff of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in France were associated with the visit.
Embassy of Sri Lanka
Paris
27.10.2025
