Suriname’s First Lady Speaker of The House:

Interviewed By Chandra Van Binnendijk

At first her predecessor refused to address her as "Madame Chairperson". Veteran politicians in the National Assembly, some twice her age and far more experienced, just called her "Hey miss" when requesting the floor. Every meeting she presided was disturbed by numerous interruptions. Her private life became an issue for public debates, often dressed up with untruths and nasty allegations. Indradevi Djwalapersad encountered quite a wall of resistance when she took office as both the youngest and the first female chairperson of Suriname’s parliament. The year was 1996 and she was 44 years old.

CVB:
How does a woman rise to the occasion when surrounded by such unprecedented hostility?

ID:
It was very difficult in the beginning. I was so insecure and inexperienced. These men in parliament really slapped me down all the time. They commented on everything I did and criticised every decision I made. They made good use of my inexperience! But in spite of that I never tolerated incorrect behaviour. If Mr. Lachmon [her predecessor] did not address me as chairperson I did not allow him to speak. And I told those who said "hey miss" that they were not dealing with just a miss, but with the Speaker of the Assemby and that they had to address me accordingly. If they didn’t they could not speak. I started studying the standing orders very thoroughly to make sure I would not misinterpret anything. But what really empowered me was an editorial in the newspaper on the eve of the debates on the budget. This was three months after I took the chair. The editor wrote "it should not come as a surprise if one of the ocming days Djwalapersad will leave the meeting in tears because she won’t be able to manage it". As you know debates on the budget are often the heaviest discussions in parliament. Both the Opposition and the Coalition sharpen their teeth for the occasion. I read the editorial and I thought" Oh so?" This motivated me to do quite the opposite. And I did.

It was not the first time in her life that resistance made Indredevi Djwalapersad only stronger and more determined to reach her goal. In fact this started when she was very young. Born in the countryside she was raised in a traditional conservative Indian family. Tradition in those days meant no further education for girls after elementary school: they had to prepare for marriage and motherhood. But Indredevi loved to learn new things and enjoyed school a lot. She was eleven when her father told her this was coming to an end and that she could not continue her education. Again she thought ’Oh so?’

And the little girl went on a hunger strike. This lasted a couple of days until her fater, desperate by her determination, gave in. But he did not let go of her easily. Every morning he took his motorbike to follow the school bus that took his precious daughter to school, to make sure no harm would come to her. After a while Indradevi was able to convince him that she would be all right on her own.

CVB:
What is the vision that made you go into politics?

ID:
I want to be an example for Indiian women, and especially for women from the countryside like me. The traditional political parties in Suriname hardly make any room for women. At the base yes, for propaganda reasons when elections come, and to get their votes. But as eligible candidates? This has changed considerably in the last few years. In 1991 I becamse the first Indian femal member of the National Assembly for instance. And last year I registered as the first female president of a political party in Suriname. In my party Naya Kadam [Hindi for’new choice’] about 40% of the members are women. And about one-third of the party divisions are led by women. We can see that now they really dare to come forward and make themselves heard.

One of the first things Naya Kadam will do when elected in the National Assembly is change the law on plitical parties. Under the present law it depends on men to make women eligible or not in the political order. We are promoting that 33% of the political candidates for every national election must be women. The only other party here with a female president, DOE, led my Monique Essed-Fernandes demands 50% but I don’t think this is feasible right now.

Naya Kadam was formed after Djwalapersad broke away from the (Party of Renewal and Democracy) BVD party, or which she was an executive member since its inception. The BVD joined a broad coalition with the National Democratic Party of former military strongman Desi Bouterse. But to her he proved to be an unreliable partner in politics. The initial ideals watered down. Conflicts could no longer be resolved. "It became time for a new political house", Djwalapersad says.

Here Naya Kadam is very firm on certain premises. In no way will it be traditional in the way of its poitics. It wants to distinguish itself form the ehtnic-based parties, which determined Suriname’s political life since World War II - a situation that was radically changed by the military take-over in February 1980.