Kusala Vichitra Abhayavardhana (née Fernando) (1 November 1920 – 1988) was a

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

n social worker. She was the co-founder of the Civil Service International in Sri Lanka, founding secretary International Women’s Year Sri Lanka and national chair of the Women in Peace in Sri Lanka. She was a Member of Parliament from 1970 to 1977.

Early life and education

Born Warusahennedige Kusala Vichitra Mututantri on 1 November 1920, to a wealthy family in Thimbirigasyaya, Colombo. Her father Warusahennedige Daniel Fernando,

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

worked in the Finger Print Bureau of the Criminal Investigation Department at Hulftsdorp, later becoming a successful businessmen with close ties to

Sir Oliver Goonetilleke Sir Oliver Ernest Goonetilleke ( si, ශ්‍රිමත් ඔලිවර් ගුණතිලක) (20 October 1892 – 17 December 1978) was a Sri Lankan statesman. Having served as an important figure in the gradual independence of Ceyl ...

. He was the founder and a director of United Imports, United Motors, United Tractor Equipment, and was awarded a

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

in the

1950 Birthday Honours The King's Birthday Honours 1950 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate the o ...

for public and charitable services and an

in the

1952 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1952 were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire and Commonwealth. They were announced on 1 January 1952 for the British Empire, Austra ...

for charitable and commercial services. Her mother was Kankana Tantirige Bhaddhrawathie Fernando, who founded the Bhaddhrawathie Maha Vidayala (since renamed Mahamathya Maha Vidyalaya) in

Polhengoda Narahenpita is a municipal ward of Colombo. Located at the South-Eastern corner and served by the Kelani Valley Railway Line The Kelani Valley railway line in Sri Lanka, covering the breadth of Colombo District. The line is owned, maintained, ...

. She had three brothers, W. Pinsiripal "Pinsi" Fernando, W. Parakrama Fernando, W. Dhammikka Mahinda Fernando and one sister, W. Yasoma Fernando, who married Kamal Punchihewa. She was educated at

Visakha Vidyalaya Visakha Vidyalaya () is a girls' school in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is a National School managed by the central government providing primary and secondary education. History The school was established in 1917 by Celestina Dias as the Buddhist G ...

, at the University of Ceylon, and at the London School of Economics.

Political career

She contested the Colombo Municipal Council from the Thimbirigasyaya ward from the United National Party, but was defeated by

Bernard Soysa Bernard Soysa (20 March 1914 - 30 December 1997) was a Sri Lankan politician. Early life and education Bernard Soysa was born 20 March 1914 in Colombo, Ceylon. He attended the Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya, S. Thomas' College, Mount Lav ...

. She was later elected to the Colombo Municipal Council and served as a Municipal Councilor. Kusala Fernando married Hector Abhayavardhana a journalist and Trotskyist in 1959. She contested the 1965 general election from the

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (Literal translation, literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhalese language, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil language, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமா� ...

(LSSP) in the Moratuwa electorate, where she polled second after Ruskin Fernando. At the 1970 general elections she ran as the LSSP candidate in the Borella electorate and was elected to parliament, defeating incumbent the United National Party candidate,

M. H. Mohamed Mohamed Haniffa Mohamed (15 June 1921 – 26 April 2016) was a Sri Lankan politician. Mohamed served as the 14th Speaker of the Parliament of Sri Lanka as well as being a former member of Parliament and government minister. Mohamed was the fir ...

by 16,421 votes to 15,829 votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abhayavardhana, Kusala Sri Lankan social workers Sinhalese politicians Colombo municipal councillors Members of the 7th Parliament of Ceylon Women legislators in Sri Lanka People from Western Province, Sri Lanka Alumni of Visakha Vidyalaya Alumni of the University of Ceylon Alumni of the London School of Economics United National Party politicians Lanka Sama Samaja Party politicians 1920 births 1988 deaths Sri Lankan expatriates in the United States