Cissy Cooray
Cissy Cooray, from a 1952 Australian newspaper.
Born	8 June 1889
Died	6 November 1965
Known for	First 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