In a historic move for gender equality, the Sri Lankan cabinet has approved the recruitment of women as locomotive drivers, station masters, and controllers, ending a decades-long male-only policy in the railway service.
The Sri Lanka Railways Department has received official cabinet approval to recruit women officers for the positions of locomotive driver, train controller, station master, and railway supervisory manager. This landmark decision marks a significant shift in the nation’s approach to public sector employment and gender inclusion.
Since its inception, the Railways Department had maintained a policy of recruiting only male officers for the positions of locomotive driver, train controller, and railway supervisory manager. Female officers had only been recruited for the position of supervisory manager on two previous occasions, in 2012 and 2015. The recent cabinet approval directly addresses this long-standing institutional gender discrimination.
The decision was taken after considering a proposal submitted by the Acting Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development. The cabinet noted that the currently approved recruitment procedure had no provision for the recruitment of female officers for these roles. Using the powers vested in it under the Constitution, the cabinet granted in-principle approval to amend this, opening the door for women to apply.
This pivotal government decision coincides with a fundamental rights petition currently being heard in the Supreme Court. The petition was filed by two women, Ayeshani Jayawardena and Suresh Vidusha, challenging the Railway Department’s policy of allowing only male candidates to apply for the posts of Station Master.
Junior lawyer Dinusha Lakmali Thiranagama, who is representing the petitioners, hailed the cabinet approval as a major victory against discrimination. She stated, “This cabinet approval for the recruitment of women to the railway service is a major victory against discrimination based on personal social status.” She emphasized that there are many qualified women capable of filling these positions, a point central to their legal argument.
The legal challenge was sparked by a gazette notification issued on June 13th of this year. The notification was for filling 106 vacant railway station master positions. Lawyer Dinusha explained the problematic nature of the advertisement, saying, “This gazette had listed all the qualifications to apply and in the section called additional qualifications, it was stated that one must be a male. Even if one has all these qualifications, it is useless, if one is not a male, one cannot apply. We filed this fundamental rights petition on behalf of women who are unable to apply and whose rights have been violated.”
She further elaborated on their legal stance, noting, “There are many women out there who are qualified for these positions. However, we have argued that gender discrimination in employment violates their fundamental rights. Accordingly, the petition was allowed to proceed.”
During their legal research, the petitioners gathered comparative information, including findings about a railway station in India operated entirely by women. “While filing the documents for this petition, we searched a lot of information about it. Then we found information about a station in India where only women work. Similarly, there are court decisions in India that have been given regarding gender discrimination in such jobs,” Dinusha said. They also submitted a relevant judgment from the Supreme Court of India to the Sri Lankan court, supporting their argument for equal promotion rights regardless of gender.
Lawyer Dinusha Lakmali Thiranagama pointed out that this case could set a crucial legal precedent in Sri Lanka. “There have been no previous judgments in Sri Lanka on discrimination in employment. This may be the first petition filed on the subject. It is also a memorable case in my legal career,” she stated.
She revealed that the Attorney General’s Department had informed the court that amendments for recruiting women were pending cabinet approval. “If we are informed that the necessary steps have been taken in this regard in the next hearing, we will not continue the case,” she added, indicating that the primary goal of the petition has been achieved through this administrative action.
The lawyer also addressed the social resistance to this change, noting the negative public reaction on social media. “We saw that many people had left very negative comments on the Facebook posts that reported on this case. Comments like people throwing up when the bell rang at the station were posted. It is a great thing to be able to achieve such a victory in such a setting,” she remarked.
Looking forward, she highlighted the need for broader linguistic and legislative reform to cement gender equality. She pointed out that many existing acts in Sri Lanka use the masculine pronoun “he” when referring to persons, suggesting that such language should be changed to “him or her,” including in some articles of the Constitution.
Furthermore, she advocated for changing inherently masculine job titles. “When a doctor says he’s a lawyer, it doesn’t make it clear whether he’s a woman or a man. That’s how job titles should change,” Dinusha said, suggesting that titles like “station master” should be made gender-neutral to reflect the new, inclusive reality of the Sri Lanka Railways.
