Social indicators relating to women are impressive due to policies since the 1940s.

The United Nations Human Development Report (UNDP) (2004) figures shows life expectancy at birth (years) to be 75.8; adult literacy 89.6; estimated earned income (PPP US $) 2,570; maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births) 92; infant mortality ratio (per 1,000 live births) 17 and seats held by women in parliament (as percent of total) 4.4. See UNDP (2004) Human Development Report, Cultural Liberty in Today's Diverse World, UNDP, Oxford University Press, New Delhi or http://hdr.undp.org/reports/global/2004/

But, paradoxically, Sri Lanka is also a country where human rights violations are among the most severe. Violence against women is increasing.

Though women have equal rights under national, civil and criminal law, questions related to family law, including divorce, child custody, and inheritance, are often adjudicated by the customary law of each ethnic or religious group. See http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/arsh/Country_Profiles/Sri...

Women are also denied equal rights to land in government-assisted settlements, as the law does not institutionalise the rights of female heirs.

Women are under-represented at the political and decision-making levels despite constituting a little more than half the population of the country. According to the United Nations Development Assistance Framework, this makes mainstreaming gender at the policy level difficult.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the quality of employment available to women is less than that available to men, as the demand for female labour is mainly for casual, low-paid, low-skill jobs in the informal sector.