The Women’s Movement in Suriname

By Carla Bakboord

I would like to address the development of the Surinamese women’s movement.I believe that the movement has become a strong force in Surinamese society. In the period immediately following Independence in 1975, women’s organisations emerged which aimed to put women’s issues on the political agenda. The Organisation for Surinamese Women led by Margo Parabirsing and the Progressive Women’s Union led by Rita Rahman, both established in 1974, were at the forefront. The leaders and members of these organisations came mainly from the progressive movement. The second wave of feminism in Europe and the United States during the 1970s also had its impact on these leading women.

In Suriname this second wave was associated with western radical feminists, who were accused of sexism and hostility against men. Moreover, the general opinion was that this western feminism could not be imported as it was and put into practice in the Surinamese context. Feminism was labelled as anti-nationalist and thus became a negative concept in Suriname. We must not forget that the radical feminist stream is just one of the various streams within the feminist movement. Progressive women’s organisations in Suriname practised the emancipation concept through organising women at local level, empowerment of women in their daily struggle to survive, and increasing women’s awareness through education and information distribution (publications, radio and television programmes.)

Also progressive women worked on political demands to relieve the disadvantaged socio-economic position of women. In order to realise this, concentration of political power was necessary. The first federation of women’s organisations - the National Women’s Council- and later a new federation of women’s organisations -the Co-operating Women Organisation- was established. In 1982 The National Women’s Movement came into being and Siegmien Staphorst took the lead. One of the movement’s most important activities was combating unemployment by creating employment for women through setting up production-oriented projects. Women increasingly organised themselves at the local or district level to confront the rising economic crisis to which Suriname fell a prey in the 1980’s.

Apart from the political and the economic crisis in the country, as well as the feminist waves in western Europe and the United States, it was the proclamation of the UN International Year of women in 1975 and the UN Women’s decade (1975-1985) that contributed to the development on the women’s movement in Suriname. The UN proclamation stimulated the Surinamese government to proclaim equality between men and women on January 3rd, 1975.

Now, 26 years later, there is a need for women’s organisations to close the ranks in order to strengthen women’s political and economic participation. Too long the women’s movement in Suriname has been divided along ethnic, political and personal lines. It is of great importance that women’s organisations reinforce themselves in an independent women’s movement across differences while not denying those differences.

In another sense an independent women’s movement is also needed. Women should not be restricted by involvement in political parties. Within political parties, women who display loyalty to women’s issues at the expense of party interest are too often regarded as having betrayed their political parties. This is not surprising since men dominate political parties. From practice we have learned that political parties, traditional as well as progressive, up till now have not contributed effectively to women’s emancipation.

On the contrary, it is obvious that women continue to function in secondary roles within political parties.

In Suriname at the moment there is a growing awareness by women of the need to co-operate although in practice there are still many obstacles to overcome.

Nowadays young women are not interested in the feminist movement. Somehow the movement has no link with young women. Ii think that women should write their life history and name their achievements. The next generation should know what we have gained from the feminist movement. There is no information flowing to the next generation. They have been poisoned with negativism among feminists but are not aware of the achievements of the movement. They hear that women in the movement are always fighting and this is used against us. When the union, the various religious organisations, or the political parties are fighting no one seems to classify that as a man’s issue. For the young generation this is also one of the obstacles to join the feminist movement.

The women’s movement yet has not put the struggle of ‘women who also loves women’ called mati’s on the agenda. Even though in Suriname mati’s are accepted in the Creole ethnic group, the problem of mati still exists among other ethnic groups. In 1998 the Forum for Lesbians and Gays in Suriname, FLAGS, was founded with the aim of supporting mati’s and gay men.

We are seeing that women no longer participate solely through political parties but also through NGO’s, women organisations and pressure groups. This broadens the base of the women’s movement. The independent women’s movement needs all women: young and old, poor and rich, skilled and unskilled, religious and non-religious from all ethnic, sexual and political groups. This is very complex but we should look at an alliance that binds us together. This way feminism is not a prerogative of an elite vanguard. The highest objective of feminism- a better world in which men and women have equal say- should be achieved in joint action. I believe that once we can make alliances with each other on specific topics we can achieve our goals.

The history of the women’s movement of Suriname shows us evidently that women are on the move. Women’s organisations founded prior to political independence, were active in the socio-cultural field. Later on from the 1970’s the women’s movement focused in increasingly on women’s emancipation, while the nineties were characterised by increasing participation of women in the political front. Since the early 1990’s women have been organising themselves also around women’s issues and rights. These are put on the political agenda as political demands of the women’s movement, independent from government institutions and political parties. Women’s awareness about their own capacities is promising as it is growing to be an influential political force.

Carla Bakboord is CAFRA’s national representative in Suriname. She is a social worker specialising in gender studies. Her paper was presented at the roundtable on Feminism in the Caribbean which was part of the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) 26th Annual Conference held in Puerto Rico in May 2001.

I believe that the movement has become a strong force in Surinamese society. In the period immediately following Independence in 1975, women’s organisations emerged which aimed to put women’s issues on the political agenda. The Organisation for Surinamese Women led by Margo Parabirsing and the Progressive Women’s Union led by Rita Rahman, both established in 1974, were at the forefront. The leaders and members of these organisations came mainly from the progressive movement. The second wave of feminism in Europe and the United States during the 1970s also had its impact on these leading women. In Suriname this second wave was associated with western radical feminists, who were accused of sexism and hostility against men. Moreover, the general opinion was that this western feminism could not be imported as it was and put into practice in the Surinamese context. Feminism was labelled as anti-nationalist and thus became a negative concept in Suriname. We must not forget that the radical feminist stream is just one of the various streams within the feminist movement. Progressive women’s organisations in Suriname practised the emancipation concept through organising women at local level, empowerment of women in their daily struggle to survive, and increasing women’s awareness through education and information distribution (publications, radio and television programmes.)

Also progressive women worked on political demands to relieve the disadvantaged socio-economic position of women. In order to realise this, concentration of political power was necessary. The first federation of women’s organisations - the National Women’s Council- and later a new federation of women’s organisations -the Co-operating Women Organisation- was established. In 1982 The National Women’s Movement came into being and Siegmien Staphorst took the lead. One of the movement’s most important activities was combating unemployment by creating employment for women through setting up production-oriented projects. Women increasingly organised themselves at the local or district level to confront the rising economic crisis to which Suriname fell a prey in the 1980’s.

Apart from the political and the economic crisis in the country, as well as the feminist waves in western Europe and the United States, it was the proclamation of the UN International Year of women in 1975 and the UN Women’s decade (1975-1985) that contributed to the development on the women’s movement in Suriname. The UN proclamation stimulated the Surinamese government to proclaim equality between men and women on January 3rd, 1975.

Now, 26 years later, there is a need for women’s organisations to close the ranks in order to strengthen women’s political and economic participation. Too long the women’s movement in Suriname has been divided along ethnic, political and personal lines. It is of great importance that women’s organisations reinforce themselves in an independent women’s movement across differences while not denying those differences.

In another sense an independent women’s movement is also needed. Women should not be restricted by involvement in political parties. Within political parties, women who display loyalty to women’s issues at the expense of party interest are too often regarded as having betrayed their political parties. This is not surprising since men dominate political parties. From practice we have learned that political parties, traditional as well as progressive, up till now have not contributed effectively to women’s emancipation. On the contrary, it is obvious that women continue to function in secondary roles within political parties.

In Suriname at the moment there is a growing awareness by women of the need to co-operate although in practice there are still many obstacles to overcome. But something like an independent movement has started and many women have been mobilised. Among the new initiatives are the development of several women’s projects intended to support women in their struggle for autonomy. Projekta, a consultancy bureau led by Monique Essed Fernandes and which supports women and development projects, is an important innovator. The Women’s Parliament Forum, founded in 1994, is promoting women’s participation in political decision-making. A working group on Women and Development at the University of Suriname has been set up in order to get a better understanding of women’s issues through education and research. The foundation Stop Violence Against Women organised protest demonstrations to stop violence against women and children and conducted seminars to inform the public of violence against women. In 1997, the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) analysed the ad hoc actions taken by several organisations to curb domestic violence. Based on that evaluation CAFRA Suriname developed a strategic plan within a policy framework. Also, CAFRA Suriname, in collaboration with the government, organised a training program for police and social workers and this training will be integrated in the curriculum of the Police Training Centre.

JOVROCE, the Young Women’s Centre, tackles the problems of young women and schoolgirl mothers by enabling them to return to school and providing them with information about sexual relationships. The Women Rights Centre (WRC), founded to work on strategy and policy matters, is involved in advocacy around women’s rights. The Centre is currently preparing a Domestic Violence Bill and will lobby to have the Bill tabled in Parliament. WRC also has two weekly columns in the local evening paper De WEST.

Nowadays young women are not interested in the feminist movement. Somehow the movement has no link with young women. Ii think that women should write their life history and name their achievements. The next generation should know what we have gained from the feminist movement. There is no information flowing to the next generation. They have been poisoned with negativism among feminists but are not aware of the achievements of the movement. They hear that women in the movement are always fighting and this is used against us. When the union, the various religious organisations, or the political parties are fighting no one seems to classify that as a man’s issue. For the young generation this is also one of the obstacles to join the feminist movement.

The women’s movement yet has not put the struggle of ‘women who also loves women’ called mati’s on the agenda. Even though in Suriname mati’s are accepted in the Creole ethnic group, the problem of mati still exists among other ethnic groups. In 1998 the Forum for Lesbians and Gays in Suriname, FLAGS, was founded with the aim of supporting mati’s and gay men.

We are seeing that women no longer participate solely through political parties but also through NGO’s, women organisations and pressure groups. This broadens the base of the women’s movement. The independent women’s movement needs all women: young and old, poor and rich, skilled and unskilled, religious and non-religious from all ethnic, sexual and political groups. This is very complex but we should look at an alliance that binds us together. This way feminism is not a prerogative of an elite vanguard. The highest objective of feminism- a better world in which men and women have equal say- should be achieved in joint action. I believe that once we can make alliances with each other on specific topics we can achieve our goals.

The history of the women’s movement of Suriname shows us evidently that women are on the move. Women’s organisations founded prior to political independence, were active in the socio-cultural field. Later on from the 1970’s the women’s movement focused in increasingly on women’s emancipation, while the nineties were characterised by increasing participation of women in the political front. Since the early 1990’s women have been organising themselves also around women’s issues and rights. These are put on the political agenda as political demands of the women’s movement, independent from government institutions and political parties. Women’s awareness about their own capacities is promising as it is growing to be an influential political force.

Carla Bakboord is CAFRA’s national representative in Suriname. She is a social worker specialising in gender studies. Her paper was presented at the roundtable on Feminism in the Caribbean which was part of the Caribbean Studies Association (CSA) 26th Annual Conference held in Puerto Rico in May 2001.