While Sri Lanka had an excellent record of women's health, education, and life expectancy, it was worst in the region when it came to the participation of women in politics, Sri Lanka National Congress leader and Minister of Justice Milinda Moragoda said at a meeting of grassroots women activists at Maradana on Saturday.

Moragoda stated that with the advent of the Centenary of Women's International Day, he urged all political parties, civil society leaders and opinion-makers to unite and support legislation to reserve 25 per cent of seats for women in parliament, provincial councils and local councils.

He said India was about to bring in an amendment to its Constitution to reserve 33 percent of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.

That move was being initiated by the Congress Party with support from the main Opposition party the BJP and parties from the Left, and that legislation was likely to be taken up today (08) to mark the Women's Day Centenary, Moragoda said.

The Justice Minister highlighted the fact that through a similar measure, India has successfully brought in women to all local governing bodies and as a result, over a million women had entered politics at that level.

Minister Moragoda said that India, with a population of over a billion people, had been able to achieve consensus to bring about that revolutionary change and that should provide food for thought.

The Minister said, "Can we call ourselves a democracy, when over 50 percent of our population is not properly represented in Parliament?"

Moragoda pointed out that for over 30 years, Sri Lanka had been able to effect improvement to the representation of minorities in Parliament, yet the country's biggest majority, women, were largely ignored.

The fact remained that since the introduction of universal franchise in Sri Lanka in 1931, the percentage of women members of parliament had remained constantly around or below five percent, he said.

At the local government level, more shockingly, that statistic was less than one percent.

With women largely missing in Sri Lanka's political system at all levels - local, municipal and national government – Minister Moragoda said the problem needed an urgent solution.

He said women formed the backbone of the country’s political organisations, though they were denied their due place.

The Minister said that a lot was being spoken about change. However, that real change would come only if women entered politics in large numbers. They would bring with them experience, energy and enthusiasm as well as an alternative viewpoint when dealing with some of the major problems the country faced, he said.