Cissy Cooray

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]

Cissy Cooray
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)

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. Gunawardena, Charles A. (Ed) (2005). Encyclopedia of Sri Lanka. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 89. ISBN 9781932705485.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  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 requires |journal= (help)
  5. "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 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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