Thirty second Law Triennial Congress of the International Alliance of Women hosted by its affiliate the Sri Lanka Women‘s Congress will be held on September 16-20 at the Galle Face Hotel.

The occasion of the SLWC hosting the 32nd Triennial Congress of the IAW is a time for stock taking and reflection and also the appropriate time to pay tribute to the pioneers who founded this organisation. Dr. Mrs. Mary Ratnam, the Founder President stands as a colossus. It was her vision and courage that brought the SLWC to what it is today. Mrs. Ezlyn Deraniyagala, who inherited her mantle as President, brought much credit to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) by being elected as the President of the IAW. She was the first Asian woman to be elected to this prestigious post and well recognised for her dynamic endeavours in that challenging role.

In 1927 the Women’s Adult Franchise Union was formed. Once women got the franchise, along with men in 1931, the original suffragette movement formed to agitate for women’s franchise became redundant. This organization thereafter proliferated into social movements of various kinds, along the respective interests of its members. The SLWC (then known as the All Ceylon Women’s Conference) was one of them. It was called "Conference" evidently because at its inception and during the years immediately following its formation, the members met only to hold a conference on issues of concern to women and to young persons.

The first Biennial Conference was held in 1934 with twelve (12) women’s organisations affiliated to it. 201 delegates had participated in the inaugural sessions held under the very inspired guidance of Dr. Mrs. Mary Ratnam, its first President. Today it is the oldest umbrella organisation with 104 affiliates countrywide and it is a non-political, multi-ethnic and multi-religious service organisation working for the improvement of the status of women and initiating programmes for the welfare of women and children, aimed at fostering national development and unity. It became affiliated to the International Alliance of Women (IAW) in 1948 which is its major international link, as the IAW has consultative status with the UN and its Specialized Agencies. The SLWCs logo echoes its objectives: equality, development, participation and peace. It also brings together different disciplines through several committees such as Education, International Understanding, Economic Rights, Civil and Political Rights, Social and Habitat. The SLWC’s Diamond Jubilee in 1994 was celebrated with great enthusiasm resulting in the nation’s eyes being focused on the organization.

Establishment of regional branches which takes the Sri Lanka Women’s Conference to the provinces, bringing many rural women’s organizations under one roof to work together for women’s advancement and the funding of projects has enabled rural women to build up their capacity, inter alia, for decision making, income generation and entrepreneurship.

Now in its 68th year, the SLWC, as the leading Women’s NGO Consortium of Sri Lanka continues to fulfil the aims and the objectives enshrined in its Constitution by serving the underprivileged, especially women and children, irrespective of any ethnic, religious or political divide.

The International Alliance of Women (IAW) like its affiliate the Sri LAnka Women’s Conference (SLWC) came about to advocate for Women’s Suffrage. In 1902 an International Women Suffrage Alliance Committee was formed in Washington and inaugurated in Berlin in 1904. Appropriately, its publication was titled "Jus Suffragii" which became part of the IAW’s logo.

Congresses were held in Amsterdam in 1908 and in Stockholm in 1911 after which the President set off on a Suffrage world tour visiting South Africa, Palestine, Egypt, CEYLON, India, Burma, Sumatra, China, Japan and Hawaii.

In 1914 the Alliance was involved in a attempt to avert World War I and a manifesto was drawn up and delivered to the British Foreign Minister and the Foreign Office. During World War I the Alliance joined forces with other women’s groups in Britain to form a National Women’s Relief Committee which helped women who had suddenly became aliens in their own country and re-settled women and their children. Women from both neutral nations and those at war had maintained contacts and in 1915, a meeting was held in the Hague which adopted a resolution calling for a permanent international conference to settle international disputes. This is said to have been one of the seeds that grew into the League of Nations. Out of the Hague meeting emerged the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

Plans to set up the League of National and the International Labour Organisation were being discussed. A deputation which included the IAW President lobbied for gender equality and the principle of equality was written into the constitutions of both bodies. These provided a channel for getting women’s issues into the international agenda, as these, apart from suffrage, had been largely ignored by governments. By 1926 the Alliance’s objectives had been broadened to include "all other reforms as are necessary to establish real equality and liberties, status and opportunities between men and women" and the name was changed to "International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship" and its Board was increased from 11 to 21. The Alliance continued to hold meetings in many countries, gathering support and publicity and national leaders often welcomed delegates. The Alliance also maintained its lobbying of the League of Nation’s on the Status of Women which resulted in the League’s Expert Committee on the Status of Women, the precuor of the present UN Commission on the Status of Women.

The period of Word War II was hard on the Alliance and its members both through loss of life and loss of contacts. Despite this, meetings in London were arranged between women from many countries and "Jus Suffragii" continued to be published as the "International Women’s News".

The Alliance continued to work actively in the UN and its Specialised Agencies and in early 1948 was granted Consultative Status in Category B which entitles it to be represented at the UN to attend meetings of the Commissions and Committees.

The work of the IAW is spread across Board members. Commission Convenors, Regional Co-ordinators as well as member organisations and individual members. It is represented at all major international bodies and gatherings including the Commisson on the Status of Women, WHO, UNHCR, FAO, UNESCO, ILO, Council of Europe and the UN Conference on Women.

The Alliance continues to hold congresses and seminars throughout the world and each Triennial Congress identifies important issues and prioritises them for inclusion in its Action Programme for the next 3 years and IAW members are called upon to lobby on them at government, corporate and community levels in the cause of improving the Status of the Women of the World.