The International Women’s Day event for 2025, organized by the Northern Provincial Ministry of Women’s Affairs under the theme “For All women and girls : Rights. Equality. Empowerment”, commenced with great fanfare at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, March 7, 2025, at the Chavakachcheri Town Council Golden Jubilee Hall.
The event, held under the chairmanship of the Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. P. Vaakeesan, was graced by the Chief Guest, the Hon. Governor of the Northern Province, Mr. Nagalingam Vethanayagan, and the Special Guest, Ms. C.S. Ramya, the Head of Chancery of the Jaffna Indian Consulate General. Various individuals, including women entrepreneurs, school students, the general public, social activists, and well-wishers, attended the event as spectators.
To encourage women entrepreneurs and provide them with market opportunities, the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and the Department of Industries jointly set up exhibition stalls for their products within the premises. Sales activities were conducted smoothly on both March 7th and March 8th, from morning until evening.
The first phase of the Women’s Day event began with the welcoming of guests and the inauguration of the sales exhibition stalls of women entrepreneurs. This was followed by the lighting of the traditional lamp and a cultural welcome dance performance by the Narthana Shethra Dance School troupe, reflecting Tamil culture.
Subsequently, the Secretary of the Northern Provincial Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Mr. P. Vageshan, delivered the keynote address, briefly explaining the theme “For All women and girls : Rights. Equality.
Empowerment”.Following this, Dr. Mrs. Suranutha Anton Suthakaran delivered a special address on the topic “Is the creation of children a challenge or a learning experience?”, presenting various realities with evidence. Professor Mrs. Shivani Shanmugathas then delivered a special address on the topic “Ensuring sustainable economic growth of women in the Northern Province through inclusive system change.”
Following the special addresses, the Special Guest, Ms. C. S. Ramya, Head of Chancery of the Indian Consulate General, and the Chief Guest, Hon. Governor of the Northern Province, Mr. Nagalingam Vethanayagan, delivered their respective addresses.
Subsequently, the gender policy for the Northern Province, designed with the support of the International Labour Organization (ILO) by the InfotechsIDEAS(Pvt)Ltd was presented with a demonstration. Mr. Thomas Kring, the Chief Technical Advisor of ILO, and Ms. Ida Suganya, the Gender & Inclusion Officer, along with the Secretary of the Northern Provincial Ministry of Women’s Affairs, Mr. P. Vageshan, jointly handed over the policy document to the Hon. Governor of the Northern Province.
Following this event, the Federation of Civil Society Organizations operating in the all five districts of the Northern Province and representatives of the Union of the former women members of Local Authorities jointly submitted a proposal to the Administrative Officer of the Chief Secretary’s Secretariat in order to handover to the Chief Secretary.This was to address unresolved issues from quarterly Town hall meetings at the district level for high-level decision-making at the provincial level and for necessary actions related to policy decisions, seeking solutions under the leadership of the Chief Secretary.
