Shakirah Bourne on 'To kill a Mockingbird'

Films en boeken hebben altijd een rol gespeeld in het vormen, motiveren, en inspireren van opeenvolgende generaties van strijders voor gelijke rechten. In het kader van de Maart van de Vrouw schreef Shakirah Bourne voor PROJEKTA over het boek dat haar inspireerde: To kill a Mockingbird, geschreven door Harper Lee.

I love using child narrators in my short stories because children see truth and honesty in every situation. Children are unintentionally blunt, and have yet to conform to social norms.  In times where unethical and immoral behaviour is ignored or swept under the rug, who best to expose them than an innocent child? Their frank observations often bring humour to what are very serious themes.

One of the masters of this technique is Harper Lee, author of the renowned To Kill A Mockingbird. I’ve always enjoyed reading, but whilst at school I detested the fact that not only did we not have a choice in books, but that we were forced to read them aloud and analyse passages instead of enjoying them. Indeed, the blurb at the back of the book; “Scout and her brother Jem can understand that idea of sin, but in the small American town where they live, evil comes in many shapes and they have to learn to recognize it, and understand how people behave”, only caused my thirteen-year old self to yawn and slump in my chair.

Little did I know that I was going to be so engaged by Scout, a stubborn and feisty six-year old tomboy, who many times reminded me of myself with her inappropriate outbursts, thirst for adventures, and curiosity about forbidden places. That I was going to be traumatised by the world of Alabama in the 1930s, where racism was rampant, and a white lawyer defending a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman would be my introduction to the hatred and injustice faced by African Americans on a daily basis.

Yet, despite dealing with the serious issues of rape and racial inequality, the novel is renowned for its warmth and humor – thanks to the voice of Scout.

“Do you defend niggers, Atticus?” I asked him that evening.

“Of course I do. Don’t say nigger, Scout. That’s common.”

“’s what everybody at school says.”

“From now on it’ll be everybody less one-”

“Well if you don’t want me to grow up talkin’ that way, why do you send me to school?”

The novel is described as a coming-of-age story, and since it took an entire school term of thirty teenagers reading it aloud, I felt as if I too had come to age by the time we finished the book. I thought about Scout, lawyer Atticus Finch, the disabled Tom Robinson, and the mysterious Boo Radley for a long time after we had completed our end of term English exam. I think that To Kill A Mockingbird ignited a desire to read books that made me angry, uncomfortable and created a thirst to know more about the trials and history of African people – something that my Mills & Boon historical romances and Are You Afraid of the Dark books failed to do.

Shakirah Bourne is the author of In Time of Need. In Time of Need is a collection of stories that showcase the controversial and often hidden aspects of Barbados. The themes of love and relationships, domestic and emotional abuse, politics in the rum shop, sex tourism and human trafficking and more, are narrated in a satirical and humorous style, often through the voices of innocent and naïve characters.

You can find more information on www.shakirahbourne.com and www.getwrite.com.

A book worm's view on Sophie Redmond - vervolg

Dit artikel is het vervolg van A book worm's view on Sophie Redmond.

Not only was Sophie Redmond very committed to her task as a medical doctor and an advocate for women, she also emphasized the need for appreciating our own Surinamese culture. She appeared to be very progressive for that time and applied a holistic approach in her profession. She provided medical treatment to her patients and also gave advice and assisted in finding solutions when they approached her with marital and financial problems. This advice was first limited to her consultations at her clinic, but was later expanded to AVROS[1] radio talks in Sranan[2] entitled “Datra, mi wan aksi joe wan sani”. [3] Known as “Datra foe potisma”[4], she provided free medical treatment to many sick and poor people. She developed an interest in traditional healing and herbal medicine and emphasized the need for further research in this area. Proud as she was of her roots and culture, she experimented with preserving local fruits and got very creative during war time in finding local alternatives for import food products. She organized koto shows[5] to rekindle the public’s appreciation for this traditional dress.

Through her theater plays, Sophie Redmond entertained as well as educated her audience, an approach we now call with a fancy word ‘edutainment’. In the publication “Sophie Redmond – Toneel”, Thea Doelwijt introduced four of Sophie Redmond’s plays. Through “Grontapoe na asi tere”[6] Sophie Redmond raised awareness on the newly established Blood Transfusion Service in Suriname. “Misi Jana e go na stembus” (Miss Jana casts her vote) was inspired by the universal suffrage, right for both men and women to vote, when this was introduced in 1948 in Suriname. Very light and humouristic is the play “A sowtoe”[7] which tells what happens when people get fed up with sluggards and good-for-nothing characters. Her play “Jezus na watra foe libi”[8] highlights the life and death of Jesus and reflects her Moravian faith. Sophie Redmond’s theater plays were written and presented in Dutch and Sranan. 

Sophie Redmond, a true Surinamese woman, very committed to contributing to the well-being of her people and country, also entered the political arena. Going against traditional views and structures she soon encountered the wrath of political giants and as a result got so disgusted by all that was politics. Sophie Redmond’s life was cut too short, unfortunately. She was 48 years when she passed away in 1955.

More information about Sophie Redmond can be found in “De inspiratie van Sophie Redmond”[1] written  by Thea Doelwijt and Marijke van Geest at http://www.dbnl.org/tekst/doel004insp01_01/doel004insp01_01_0001.php

When Sharda’s ‘timid’ request came in by e-mail last week, my response was that I would make an effort. It is “March of Women” and it is Sharda! Little did I know how far back in time I had to go and how many miles I had to travel for this assignment.  No regret at all though, since I did enjoy every second and mile. My copy of “Sophie Redmond – Toneel” was not in my library in Georgetown as I initially thought. I traveled over the weekend to Suriname and had to dive into a dusty storage room filled with old furniture, garden tools and suitcases to find my desired ‘wear and tear’ but still readable item amidst numerous old story and study books. I decided to write this contribution in English, not because it takes me a bit more time now to write in Dutch, but to be able to share this story about our own Sophie Redmond with the English speaking Caribbean. Sophie Redmond her works might not yet be accessible for a non-Dutch and non-Surinamese speaking audience, but I do hope that at some point in time we can overcome this barrier, either through English translations or persons in the English speaking Caribbean having benefitted from a course in Dutch and Sranan, who knows?

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[1] English: The inspiration of Sophie Redmond

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[1] Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep Suriname. In English: General Association of Radio Broadcasting Suriname

[2] Lingua franca (contact language) from Suriname

[3] English: Doctor, can I ask you something?

[4] English: Doctor for the poor

[5] Koto is Sranan for dress. The koto is a traditional dress from Suriname developed during slavery. A kotomisie is a 

   woman dressed in a Surinamese koto.

[6] English: The world is like the tail of a horse. One time it swings up, then it goes down. Attitudes can change.

[7] English: It’s salty!

[8] English: Jesus is the living water

A book worm's view on Sophie Redmond

Films en boeken hebben altijd een rol gespeeld in het vormen, motiveren, en inspireren van opeenvolgende generaties van strijders voor gelijke rechten. In het kader van de Maart van de Vrouw schreef Riane de Haas-Bledoeg voor PROJEKTA over het boek dat haar inspireerde.

Book worms tend to get their hands and eyes on everything that is readable and since my childhood I fitted this profile. Targeting every library that I was allowed to enter - from private collections, school, church to public libraries - and with eyes only capturing presents of which the wrappings indicated that the content could be readable, I explored this interesting world of knowledge and entertainment. It was in perusing my mother’s collection of books and writings that in the early seventies works about female roles and realities caught my attention.

One of the books that triggered my interest in works from female writers and in role models, especially the ones from my home country Suriname, was a publication about Sophie Redmond who lived in Paramaribo from 1907 – 1955 and who became the first black female medical doctor in Suriname. Sophie’s father, who was a teacher, got the shock of his life when she expressed the wish to become a medical doctor. In those colonial times, the highest career for a woman, especially a dark coloured (Creole) woman, was the position of teacher. Notwithstanding all advice, she enrolled in 1925 as a student in the Medical School. Despite all discrimination and resistance she encountered during her studies, Sophie persevered and completed her medical studies in 1935.

Being a twelve year old then and open to influences that may shape a girl’s character, I guess that it must have been this resilience in a woman that intrigued me and nurtured my ‘rebellion’ against social roles that were traditionally predetermined for women. Even though Sophie Redmond pioneered for other Surinamese women to pursue a career other than what was then considered appropriate for women, we know that follow up is a long process.  Also, before the fifties, careers like teachers, secretaries and nurses might have been open to women in Paramaribo, the capital city, but in the rural areas/districts this was not necessarily the same, especially for young women from Indian and Javanese families for whom the traditional role was usually set as a domestic and/or housewife/mother. There have been changes since then but anno 2015, we find ourselves still engaged in sensitizing girls to widen their career options and also pursue careers in traditionally male dominated positions.

Sophie Redmond lived before my time and I am grateful for initiatives from writers like Thea Doelwijt and organisations such as the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), who documented and published in 1972 Sophie Redmond’s work in advancing the position of women in Suriname. The book, that remained in my memory and which I consider a “must read” for next generations is titled “Sophie Redmond – Toneel”[1] It gives a brief background on Sophie Redmond written by S.A.S. Mitrasingh-Sitalsing and an introduction by Thea Doelwijt to the four theater plays written by Sophie Redmond.

Als u hier klikt, kunt u verder lezen. 

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[1] English: Sophie Redmond - Theatre

It’s not a compliment, it’s harassment

Dit zijn de eerste alinea’s van een essay geschreven door Risma Bissesar, student Sociologie, in het kader van het vak ‘Gender en Ontwikkeling’, welke zij in 2014 volgde aan de Anton de Kom Universiteit van Suriname. Deze essay deelde zij onlangs met Projekta. Klik hier voor de volledige tekst (PDF, 615 kb).

Vraag je dochter, is the title of a column written by Sharda Ganga in De Ware Tijd on the 5^th of April. She addressed an issue women deal with on a daily basis, a social issue that is not given the deserved attention by society. Ganga referred to this problem as eve- teasing, the making of unwanted sexual remarks or advances by a man to a woman in a public place (Oxford Dictionaries). Society perceives this as a normal thing that men do, that it is harmless teasing. In the column, Ganga addresses this misconception and how it encourages the unfair treatment and objectification of women. She further argues that men think this is normal and acceptable behavior and advices them to go home and ask the women in their lives how they feel about it and if they would enjoy being “teased” (Ganga, 2014). The column is more of a cautionary piece to men and I suppose society as well, but does not fully address the problem.

This essay is meant as a continuation of the subject matter Ganga wrote about, by looking at eve-teasing as a socially constructed mannerism possibly caused by patriarchy, male-dominated social structures leading to the oppression of women (The Sociology of Gender: Theoretical Perspectives and Feminist Frameworks). To illustrate this we look at how the unfair treatment of women is stimulated on three levels: the normative level which includes family and education, the symbolic level where we look at the media and the personal level where gender identity is developed.

The term eve-teasing is mostly used in India to refer to the harassment of women by men in public places (Afridi, 2013). It’s an alternative name for a very common phenomenon every woman experiences on a daily basis, even in Suriname. Ganga illustrated this very well with her examples that many women can relate too. These included examples of women riding the bus and having men “accidently” brush against their breasts or butt, incidents where strange men whistle after women or call them derogatory names when their advances are ignored, women having their way blocked by boys from the neighborhood who want their attention (Ganga, 2014). These are all very relatable examples; then again which Surinamese woman isn’t familiar with being address with “pssssttt”[1] or “schatje”[2] while walking in the city. These advances are clearly unwanted and yet men persist.

In most cases women not only try to ignore them, but they also go out of their way to avoid them. Women deliberately avoid places where they know they will be harassed by men out of fear. Women try not to leave work too late, they avoid dark streets and maybe take the long way home, choose not to take crowded busses or busses with only men in them. Making sure there’s nobody in the parking lot that can hurt them. Women are made to feel afraid and uncomfortable by eve-teasing; they alter their lives around it and live with it. Yet these unwanted advances are publicly disregarded.

Als u hier klikt, vindt u het volledige artikel en kunt u verder lezen. 

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[1] A vocal gesture made by an individual or group to attract the attention of someone of the opposite or desired sex.

[2] Translated from Dutch as “baby” or “sweetheart”

March of Women Newsletter 2012

In March 2012, Projekta organized the second 'March of Women': one whole month to focus on the social position of women in Suriname.

The guideline for this year's activities was the most recent set of recommendations by the CEDAW Committee and the Suriname's progress in fulfilling its commitments in the field of women's rights and gender equality: de long road to travel, before we can truly say that there is gender equality.

On the last day of the March of Women, Projekta presented the "March of Women Newsletter" to the audience. In this newsletter, we describe the situation of Surinamese women in various areas.

The newsletter has now been translated to English. You can download the English translation here (1.4 MB).