In this, our Independence issue Imeth de Silva talks about the first female Prime Minister of the world.
During an era, when the idea of a woman leading a country was almost improbable, Sirima Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike proved them all wrong, when she became the first female Prime Minister in the world.
Her legacy as a great female leader created new paths for future generations of women in politics all over the globe.
Sirima Ratwatte, or as she is more popularly known as Sirimavo Bandaranaike was born on April 17, 1916 to a family of six. She was the eldest of four boys and another girl.
Her mother was Rosalind Hilda Kumarihamy and her father was Barnes Ratwatte.
Sirimavo Banfaranaike was educated at Ferguson High School, Ratnapura and St. Bridget’s Convent, Colombo. She remained a Buddhist, despite studying in Catholic schools and was fluent in both English and Sinhala.
She became involved in social work as soon as she left school and served in a Social Service League, distributing food and in general trying to improve the standards of living for women in rural areas, until her marriage.
Marriage
On October 2, 1940 Sirimavo married S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike, who became the fourth Prime Minister of the country in 1956. The marriage was considered as the Wedding of the Century.
They had three children; Sunethra, Chandrika and Anura.
Chandrika Bandaranaike became the first female President of Sri Lanka in 1994.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike assisted S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike throughout his political career, but it was only after her husband’s assassination in 1959, that Sirimavo herself followed a political career.
In May 1960, Sirimavo was unanimously elected as the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). Under her leadership, a landslide victory was won by the SLFP and Sirimavo was sworn in as Prime Minister on July 21, 1960. She created history by becoming the first female Prime Minister of the world and inspired many women to expand their political capabilities.
First tenure as PM
Her first tenure as Prime Minister lasted from 1960 till 1965. During her first tenure, Sirimavo wished to establish her husband’s policies, by nationalising key sectors of the economy. Sirimavo Bandaranaike nationalised banking, foreign trade, insurance and the petroleum industry.
In 1961, Sirimavo Bandaranaike declared Sinhala as the main language replacing English. She also tried to strengthen the country’s relationships with China, India and Russia.
In 1961, Sirimavo Bandaranaike attended the first Non-Aligned summit held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia and addressed the gathering which included word leadears such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Josip Tito and Abdel Nasser. Thus, she became a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement. In 1965, Sirimavo became the Leader of the Opposition and the first woman to hold this post. Her first tenure ended when Dudley Senanayake was appointed as Prime Minister in 1965.
Republican Constituition
In 1970, Sirimavo Bandaranaike regained power after winning the election with a large majority. A major highlight during her second tenure was in 1972, when Sri Lanka’s first Republican Constitution was ratified and ‘Ceylon’ became the Republic of Sri Lanka. She also created the Ministry of Women and Child Affairs focusing on issues faced by women and children.
Chair – Non Aligned Summit
Sirimavo Bandaranaike chaired the Sixth Non Aligned Summit held in Colombo in August, 1976. Sri Lanka was the host nation and the venue was the Bandaranaike International Conference Hall, (BMICH) Colombo.
In 1977, Sirimavo was defeated and she returned to her previous role as Leader of the Opposition.
Sirimavo Bandaranaike was appointed as Prime Minister for the last time in 1994, when her daughter, Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, won the election to become the first female President of the country. However, Sirimavo stepped down as Prime Minister in August, 2000 due to health reasons.
She died on October 10, 2000 and Sri Lanka declared two days of national mourning. She was entombed in the Horagolla Bandaranaike Samadhi, originally built for her husband, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.