Where a Strongman Failed, Women Are Now Fueling a Democratic Revival

It was a brief remark during a mundane session of Parliament. But to Harini Amarasuriya, Sri Lanka’s prime minister, it was the moment she realized that her country, wrecked not long ago by strongman leaders and their populist politics, had entered a potentially transformative moment for women.

A male colleague (and “not a very feminist” one, as Dr. Amarasuriya described him) stood up to say that the island nation could not get more women into the formal work force unless it officially recognized the “care economy” — work caring for others.

To Dr. Amarasuriya, it was “one of the biggest thrills” to hear language in government that had long been confined to activists or to largely forgotten gender departments. “I was like, ‘OK, all those years of fighting with you have paid off,’” she said with a laugh during an interview in December at her office in Colombo, the capital.

Two years after Sri Lankans rose up and cast out a political dynasty whose profligacy had brought economic ruin, the country is in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime reinvention.

Anger has steadied into a quieter resolve for wholesale change. Through a pair of national elections last year, for president and for Parliament, the old elite that had governed for decades was decimated. A leftist movement has risen in its place, promising a more equal society.

As the country’s democracy rebounds, opportunities are opening for women.