Tributes to Janet Jagan

For Chicago-born Janet Jagan, the vibrant labor struggles in the mid-20th century of her own country were not enough. After falling in love with Cheddi Jagan, a Guyanese dentistry student at Northwestern, Jagan followed her future husband, with Lenin's writings in hand, to his homeland in 1943. Setting up shop as a dental assistant, she set out on a path that would lead to her becoming Guyana's first female President. In 1946 she and her husband founded the People's Progressive Party, which sought to promote Marxist ideals as well as decolonization from the U.K. In the late 1940s, the Jagans inspired strikes by domestic workers in what was then referred to as "British Guyana." The movement attracted the ire of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who put the Jagans in jail. But Janet Jagan proved to be a political survivor, remaining in the game despite various attempts to purge her from leadership posts. An impolitic p.r. campaign singing the praises of the Cuban revolution in the 1960s attracted the attention of John F. Kennedy, who in turn targeted Guyana's labor unions. Relegated to the sidelines after a leftist government flopped in the 1960s, Jagan took to the pages of the Mirror newspaper, becoming its editor. By the time she was elected President in 1997, the country had achieved the independence from Britain that she had sought and had nationalized much of its economy.

WOMEN OF SUBSTANCE

The prestigious and widely circulated TIME Magazine named Janet Jagan as one of history’s most ‘rebellious’ women. This great honour and recognition came as the world community celebrated the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day which was observed on March 8. Before proceeding further I need to put two issues in perspective least it be misunderstood or deliberately misrepresented by detractors to create the wrong impression.

The term ‘most rebellious’ does not in any way convey negative connotation but is meant to recognize the role played by these women in challenging the status quo which was in the main oppressive and anti-people. The other salient point to note is that the recognition by TIME is not limited to this decade or century. It went back to time immemorial which makes the citation all the more historically significant.

The PPP and the entire country for that matter have been given a lift by such recognition and not just Mrs. Jagan. It is unfortunate that she did not live long enough to experience how the world felt about her and her role in the liberation of Guyana from poverty and undemocratic rule. Mrs. Jagan ranks among great women of history including the celebrated Joan of Arc, a 15th century French peasant girl who fought against the British and played a key role in the lifting of the siege of Orleans. She was eventually burnt at the stake by the British for heresy and witchcraft.

Other popular names mentioned in the TIME citation included Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who spent 15 years under house arrest until recently when she was set free by the military junta and Jiang Quing, wife of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. These are ‘rebels’ with a cause most of whom championed the cause of the poor and the downtrodden at tremendous odds as in the case of Phoolam Devi who became famous for taking up the cause of India’s ‘untouchables' and earned in the process the nickname of “Bandit Queen”.

In the case of Mrs. Jagan the citation read as follows: “For Chicago born Janet Jagan, the vibrant labour struggles in the mid-20th century of her own country was not enough. After falling in love with Cheddi Jagan, a Guyanese dentistry student at Northwestern, Jagan followed her future husband, with Lenin’s writings in hand, to his homeland in 1943. Setting up a shop as a dental assistant, she set on a path that would lead to her becoming Guyana’s first woman president.

In 1946, she and her husband formed the People’s Progressive Party which sought to promote Marxist ideals as well as decolonization from the United Kingdom. Strikes in what was then referred to as “ British Guiana” by domestic workers in the late 1940’s had been inspired by the Jagan’s and the movement arrtacted the ire of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill who put the Jagans in jail. But Jagan proved to be a political survivor, remaining in the game despite various attempts to politically purge her from leadership posts.

An impolitic public relations campaign singing the praises of the Cuban revolution attracted the attention of John Kennedy in the 1960’s who in turn targeted the country’s labour movement. Relegated to the sidelines, after a leftist government flopped in the 1960’s Jagan took to the pages of the Mirror newspaper and became its editor. By the time she was elected the country’s president in 1997, the country achieved the complete independence from Britain that she had sought and nationalized much of its economy.

This citation by the TIME Magazine provides a panoramic view of the epic struggles waged by Mrs. Jagan and her husband Cheddi Jagan for the liberation of Guyana from the yoke of colonialism and neo-colonialism and for a free and democratic Guyana. This is why the PPP of which they are founding members remain wedded to the ideas and ideals that they passionately embraced and defended throughout their political life which together surpassed a hundred years, quite a remarkable contribution by any political couple.

The fact that Janet Jagan was identified as one of the outstanding women of history by an international magazine with a readership that run into millions is, in my view, a fitting tribute to someone who had dedicated her entire life along with that of her husband Dr. Cheddi Jagan for the cause of humanity. For a small developing country with a population of less than a million people, Mrs. Jagan’s contribution had to be extraordinary and outstanding to have gained the notice of the directorate of the Time magazine.

Mrs. Jagan and the fifteen others named in the Magazine had one thing in common: they were all women of substance who was prepared to defend and struggle for what they believed in. Those of us who know Dr. and Mrs. Jagan can attest to their strength of character and to their warmth and humility which characterized their lives. The Weekend Mirror, of which she was a contributor and editor, is especially proud of her as indeed the PPP and its entire membership.

We should be dancing in the streets. On International Women’s Day 2011, Guyana has received one of its greatest honours ever with the naming of Mrs. Janet Jagan as one of history’s most rebellious women.

Never in our history has such a tribute been paid to any woman in Guyana, as this year’s listing by Time Magazine of the former President of Guyana has her among the sixteen foremost rebels in history.

That a person who lived most of her life on our soil could have been recognized as one of the outstanding women in history, even as a rebel, is the best news this country has ever had on International Women’s Day. And to have been part of a list which includes the likes of likes of Aung San Suu Kyi, Angela Davis, Vilma Espin and Nadizhda Krupshaya, shows the high regard in which Mrs. Jagan is held internationally. This is a highly regarded listing of the outstanding female rebels in history, going way back to Joan of Arc in the fifteenth century.

Of those on the list, Mrs. Jagan would have identified with only two, Angela Davis and the Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi who was under house arrest for fifteen years. Mrs. Jagan was the lone voice in Guyana calling for Suu Kyi’s release. The Burmese authorities catapulted last November and freed her from house arrest. Mrs. Jagan unfortunately was not alive to see that great event.

The inclusion of Mrs. Jagan as one of history’s greatest rebels will however not go down well with everyone in Guyana. Instead of nationwide celebrations, there is likely to be a fair degree of resentment within certain quarters in the country that she could be so honoured. Instead of being proud that a woman who lived most of her life in Guyana has been named among the great rebels of history, there is going to be divided opinions about this selection.

It goes right back to the divisions within our country and the fact that local politics continue to result in us not appreciating the good and great persons within our midst.

There are many good people in our country. There are many good people in the government. There are many good people within the opposition. But given the divisions within the society, judgment is often based on a person’s political persuasion. Often we fail to appreciate how highly persons outside of these shores respect our citizens, some of whom we revile and spend a great deal of time putting down.

Like most of the other women on the list, this rebel of Guyana, was disliked by many at home purely because of the side of politics on which she stood.

But in great measure we need to ask what Guyana would have been like had she not laid the foundations for the anti-colonial struggle when she came to this country along with her husband, Cheddi Jagan, who was the country’s first premier and was also later to become the President of Guyana. We do not know how history would have panned out. What we do know was that Mrs. Jagan was in the forefront of the struggle for Guyana’s independence.

However as a practitioner in domestic politics she ultimately attracted detractors. Once you are engaged in domestic politics you will have your enemies. Mrs. Janet Jagan was no exception. She, like many others, was a victim of partisan assessments, a victim of the smear campaign and hatred that is often the product of political frustration by her detractors. Ugly things were said about her and done to her, and there is still a great deal of that around even after her death.

Not that she was without her shortcomings. She was a rebel who did not yield easily to opposition. She believed strongly that it was her duty to preserve the party she helped formed and in the process she ruffled a great deal of feathers. Those with whom she did not see eye to eye came away bitter and bruised. She is still reviled by many. But she is also loved and respected by tens of thousands in Guyana, and as is now evident, she is also highly regarded in history.
Perhaps now that she has been named among history’s most rebellious women, a fairer assessment of her contribution to Guyana will be forthcoming.

Mrs. Janet Jagan has had her fair share of criticism. But having been listed as one of the all-time rebels of history, she deserves to be honoured as an outstanding citizen of Guyana. Despite being born outside of these shores, she has lived long enough within it to be considered a Guyanese. And she is a naturalized citizen of Guyana.

In three weeks’ time, Guyana will mark the second anniversary of the death of Mrs. Janet Jagan and it would be very fitting if a ceremony can be held to celebrate her being named among the all-time female radicals of history. In honouring her, we are also marking Guyana’s name in the history books.

LATE former President of Guyana, Mrs. Janet Jagan was one of the women honoured when the Venezuelan Embassy in Georgetown, in collaboration with the Venezuelan Institute of Culture and Cooperation (IVCC), honoured them as part of the worldwide observance of International Women’s Day.

The function, held on the host institution’s premises, at Lot 106 New Garden Street, Queenstown, was themed ‘Equal access to Education, Training, Science and Technology: Pathway to Decent Work for Women’.

President of the Guyana/Cuba Friendship Association, Mr. Samuel Abdool said the international celebration, on March 8 every year, was a historical achievement all over the world, highlighting women’s rights, sufferings and achievements.
He lauded the women who lost their lives fighting for the rights of others, noting that new legislation enacted was, by no means, an overnight achievement.

Abdool expounded on what was achieved by brave and innovative women in this country, Venezuela and Cuba, placing special emphasis on Mrs. Jagan.

Describing her as “frugal, humble and kind” he highlighted her concern for vulnerable groups of people, such as Amerindians, women and children.

Abdool recalled her integral role in the first local major women’s organisation, the Women's Political and Economic Organisation (later called WP

She was the recipient of the country's highest honour, Order of Excellence (OE), the Woman of Achievement award from the University of Guyana (UG) and, in 1997, the Gandhi Gold Medal for Peace, Democracy and Women's Rights by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Venezuelan Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. Dario Morandy, who also spoke on the occasion, said ladies need to speak because it was not only a celebration but a day of achievement and struggle for the women in the world.
He called for a re-examination of the social role of women.

The high point of the programme was cultural presentations of dramatic pieces by literary activist, Mr. Petamber Persaud, who did a humorous skit called ‘Dem a watch me’ and an inspirational by Morandy’s wife, Mrs. Corina de Morandy.
President of Women with Power, Ms. Judy Khanai gave a moving representation of an uneducated 15-year-old from a rural community migrating to the city and the struggles she faced to get where she is today.

Local singer and winner of Starr Guyana competition, Ms. Lisa Punch impressed with her singing and so did IVCC student, Ms. Aleeyah Ifill, who sang in Spanish.

International Women's Day was first observed after 1977 when the United Nations General Assembly invited member States to proclaim March 8 UN Day for Women's Rights and International Peace.