Cissy Cooray
A South Asian woman, smiling, wearing glasses, with a phone to her ear.
Cissy Cooray, from a 1952 Australian newspaper.
Born8 June 1889
Died6 November 1965
Known forFirst woman to be appointed to the Senate of Ceylon (1948)

Cissy Cooray, OBE (8 June 1889 – 6 November 1965) was a Ceylonese social worker and the first woman to be appointed to the Senate of Ceylon.[1][2]

Career

Cooray was a co-founder of the Lanka Mahila Samitiya in 1931,[3] which has since become the country's largest women's voluntary organisation; she was a member for 35 years and the president for ten years between 1943 and 1953.[1][4] She was considered a pioneer in the field of maternal and child health in Ceylon.[5]

In 1937, Cooray hosted Australian clubwoman Isobel Ritchie, on a visit to see the work of the Social Service League of Colombo.[6] In 1941 she was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for her work in social welfare services in Ceylon.[7] Cooray was also active in the Ceylon Social Service League and the Girl Guide movement.[1] She served a term as president of the All-Ceylon Women's Buddhist Congress.[8]

In 1947 Cooray was appointed as a member of the Senate of Ceylon a position she retained until 1952.[1][9] While in the legislature, she worked for improvements in the food supply and in hospital care, including nurse education in rural areas.[5] "Our island is rich, our people are gay and carefree, but we cannot progress until we wipe out illiteracy and ignorance and disease," she declared in 1951.[10]

In 1950 Cooray attended an international women's conference in Denmark.[11] In 1952, she traveled to Christchurch, New Zealand, for the Pan-Pacific Women's Conference, and with social worker Helen Wickremasinghe to Melbourne, Australia, for a professional seminar on social welfare.[12][13]

Personal life

Cooray died on 6 November 1965, at the age of 76.[14][15] In 1969, the Senior Citizens Home at the Sri Lankadhara Society was opened in her memory.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gunawardena, Charles A. (Ed) (2005). Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 89. ISBN 9781932705485.
  2. ↑ "Ceylon's First Woman M. P." Sunday Times (January 20, 1952): 12. via Trove
  3. ↑ "Women who excelled in social activities and service in Sri Lanka". Sunday Times. 29 August 1999. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  4. ↑ "Handbook of the Lanka Mahila Samiti". Central Board of the Lanka Mahila Samiti. 1983: 17–18. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. 1 2 "Welfare Workers from Ceylon". The Argus. 11 January 1952. p. 5. Retrieved 28 November 2019 – via Trove.
  6. ↑ "Moving Pictures of Ceylon Trip; Miss Isobel RItchie Returns". The Advertiser. 27 April 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 28 November 2019 – via Trove.
  7. ↑ "No. 35184". The London Gazette (Supplement). 6 June 1941. pp. 3281–3302.
  8. ↑ "Past Presidents". All Ceylon Women`s Buddhist Congress. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  9. ↑ Ratnapala, Neetha S. (8 March 2003). "Women - the race is yet to be won". Daily News. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  10. ↑ Nicholls, Nan (14 July 1951). "Ceylon's Future Lies with her Women". The Argus. p. 2. Retrieved 28 November 2019 – via Trove.
  11. ↑ "Women Now in Politics". The Argus. 3 November 1950. p. 9. Retrieved 28 November 2019 – via Trove.
  12. ↑ "Untitled news item". Wellington Times. 14 January 1952. p. 1. Retrieved 28 November 2019 – via Trove.
  13. ↑ "Women from Asia at Pan-Pacific Meeting". Sydney Morning Herald. 9 January 1952. p. 8. Retrieved 28 November 2019 – via Trove.
  14. ↑ "Parliamentary Debates". 22 (16–27). Parliament of Ceylon. 1965: 2732. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  15. ↑ "Birth and death anniversaries from November 1 - November 7". Sunday Observer. Archived from the original on 17 December 2009. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
  16. ↑ "Sri Lankadhara Caring For The Needy". The Island. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
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