Women in Suriname
A Surinamese woman holding a basket full of fruits. Picture taken sometime within 1904-1937.
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| Gender Inequality Index | |
|---|---|
| Value | 0.467 (2012) |
| Rank | 94th |
| Maternal mortality (per 100,000) | 130 (2010) |
| Women in parliament | 11.8% (2012) |
| Females over 25 with secondary education | 40.5% (2010) |
| Women in labour force | 40.5% (2011) |
| Global Gender Gap Index | |
| Value | 0.6369 (2013) |
| Rank | 110th out of 144 |
Women in Suriname are women who were born in, live in, or are from Suriname. Surinamese women may be ethnically East Indian, Mixed, Creole/Afro-Surinamese, Javanese, Amerindian, or of other ancestry. Many women of Suriname work in the informal sector and in subsistence agriculture.
Surinamese women have been described as the "emotional and economic center" of the household (see matrifocality) particularly in Creole family groups. However, in traditionally patriarchal East Indian family groups, they have been described to act as subordinates; expected to obey cultural norms such as not to practice "living together" with a partner "without being married" first and that the bride should maintain her virginity until consummation after marriage.
In relation to caring for infants, Suriname's mothers place their babies inside cribs near them, particularly for sleeping, but is separated into another room if already at the right age. Other child rearing practices of women in Suriname include mothers carrying "their babies during the day" until night time when mothers place their babies in hammocks to sleep. Child care is different in Maroon women and Amerindian women because they are "reluctant to let anybody touch their babies". In general, Surinamese women allow their children to "spend the first five to six years" with them.
There are Surinamese proverbs that describe women in Suriname. The saying "An old woman's soup tastes better than a young woman's breast" is an example of those proverbs.
According to Country Reports, every ethnic groups of women in Suriname may differ in terms of clothing practices. Women of Suriname with Javanese heritage wear sarongs. The women with Creole ancestry or are Afro-Surinamese wear the kotomisse (koto for short) that is accompanied by a handkerchief or with head or body covering called as the angisa (also known as the anisa.
Among the prominent women of Suriname are Elisabeth Samson, Cynthia McLeod, Marijke Djwalapersad, Jennifer Simons, and Ruth Wijdenbosch.
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