At Babu John…..
During the wreath-laying activities on Sunday, 7th March, 2010 to commemorate the death anniversary of ‘The Father of the Guyanese Nation’, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, General-Secretary of the WPO, Mrs. Indra Chanderpal, a protégée of the Jagans, and especially of former First Lady, President, and co-Founder of the PPP and the WPO, Janet Jagan, related some of her experiences and recollections with and of the woman who indisputably mothered and nurtured this nation from the time she arrived in British Guiana as Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s young bride.
She reminded the large and attentive audience that, in 2009, for the first time since he died, Mrs. Jagan – that indomitable matriarch of Guyana, who stood enduringly for days while Guyanese said farewell to her husband, whom this nation loved, and still loves so well, did not attend the activities at Babu John last year to commemorate the death anniversary of Dr. Cheddi because “….Cde Janet was unable to be part of the activity since she had suffered an accident and could not undertake the journey.”
However, Mrs. Chanderpal recalled that Mrs Jagan heroically, as was her wont, drew upon her reserves of strength and courage to participate in the lecture at Red House on March 17, although she was obviously suffering much pain and discomfort.  This was her final tribute to the love of her life and her final appearance at a public event, because a few days later she passed on “…. bringing to an end a remarkable journey of an equally remarkable woman.”
Indra’s tribute to Mrs. Jagan was both on her own behalf, because Mrs. Jagan had mentored her since her childhood, and on behalf of the PPP women’s arm – the Women’s Progressive Organization, which Mrs. Jagan had co-founded and headed, until she passed the baton on to Indra, who has since continued to be elected by members as General-Secretary of that Organisation at successive congresses.
Addressing the rapt audience, Indra said: “All of us who had the opportunity to know her, not in a fleeting way, but at a more personal level, can attest to the many facets of her personality.
“Even before she came to Guyana in 1943 she had started to live a challenging life.  She was beautiful, bright, athletic, and a young woman of greater determination. She was a great swimmer and even tried her hand at flying a plane.
“She grew up in a middle-class town in Chicago and had the opportunity to attend Wayne University, where she became involved in left-wing politics.  Her actions were prompted by the fact that she was Jewish and was passionate about the plight of the underdog.
“Later she returned to Chicago to enter the Cook Country school of Nursing, with the intention of entering the Army Medical Corps.  The US had by then entered the Second World War and the battle against fascism.  In the 1940’s in the USA student nurses could not be married and remain in training.  Therefore, she made the difficult choice of having to leave Cook Country School of Nursing in order to marry Dr. Cheddi Jagan.”
Indra told her audience that young Janet Rosenberg’s meeting with Guyanese Dr. Cheddi Jagan, and her decision to marry him, created “….quite a stir in her family, since not only was she marrying a foreigner, but she was going to leave her country as well.
She continued:  “So, once again, she had a tough decision to make, which she did with no hesitation.  Even before she came to Guyana it was clear that she was not only a determined young woman, but a talented one as well.
“Ever since her arrival she was propelled into the activities with her husband as they sought to address the various issues confronting the underprivileged and downtrodden peoples of this country.”
Indra reminded her audience that, one year after her arrival to British Guiana in1944, Mrs. Jagan took up the cause of women by penning a letter in the Labour Advocate on the question of adult suffrage because, at that time, voting was not considered a “right” of the “backward” natives by the white supremacist plantocracy.
This was the genesis of Janet Jagan’s lifelong struggle for human rights in this country, with a special focus on women’s rights, and this catalysed the formation of initially the WPEO, in adjunctive trajectory with the formation of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), which was led by Dr. Jagan.

These two organisations subsequently evolved into the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO) and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), with a youth arm – the Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO) that was comprised of very young but nonetheless very vibrant membership.  Mrs. Jagan also established the first dissenting voice of the people – the PAC Bulletin, which gave way to The Thunder.
In an attempt to illustrate her early vision for women’s rights, and to place on record her leadership role in giving purpose to women’s equality, Indra quoted Mrs. Jagan, as follows:
“The very vital question of adult suffrage today, while being of extreme importance to the male population of British Guiana, is of equal significance to all women of the country.
“The existing law does not qualify many women to vote, since very few could possibly meet the property qualifications.  The present struggle for adult suffrage is also, one might say, a struggle for the women to vote, and although a women suffrage amendment was given effect, we are well aware that it did not enfranchise more than a handful of women up to several years ago.
“The majority of women in this country still occupy a relatively minor place in society.  Their function is still one that does not reach very far outside the confines of the homes.
“Early marriages, too many children, and the meagre education hinder many who have abilities equal to men.
“Women are not encouraged enough to become more educated and to take part in political meetings and organizations as the men.
‘The women of this country must fight hand-in-hand with the men for rights and reforms that are needed.  The women must try to educate themselves and do their best to educate their daughters as equally as they educate their sons.  The women of British Guiana must prepare themselves and their daughters for the work they must do in the future.”
Continuing, Indra said: “Women in Guiana, by the mid-forties, had already entered the fray of struggle in the working-class arena. Those in the middle-class were trying to provide assistance to the less fortunate in their midst by working through the charitable and friendly societies that were formed.
“The body politics at that period was characterised by male dominance since there was strict demarcation in the public and private sphere of society and women were not permitted to enter that domain.
“Cde Janet was not constrained by that situation, since she was nurtured in her country through her involvement in left-wing politics.  While she believed in women’s emancipation, she recognised how irresponsible it would have been to obtain emancipation in the environment that existed at that time.
“Adult suffrage had to include women, but freedom from colonial rule was also necessary. Cde H. Hubbard (co-founder of the PPP) who, according to Cde Janet, had political vision and astuteness, urged her to form a women’s organisation, and even assisted in the many aspects of the establishment of the WPEO.
According to Mrs. Chanderpal, this vision formed the basis for the emergence of the Women’s Political and Economic Organisation (WPEO) – the forerunner to the WPO, and was formed on 12th July 1946, with the first members being Mrs. Janet Jagan, Ms. Winifred Gaskin and Ms. Frances Van Stafford.   Mrs Chanderpal said that the mission of the organisation was to ensure the political and econom
ic organization of women in order to promote their economic welfare and their political and social emancipation, as well as their betterment.
Mrs. Chanderpal continued, “The WPEO set about encouraging women to register as voters for the election in 1947.  It was at this election that Mrs. Janet Jagan made her entrance in the political arena.  She contested the central Georgetown seat and, although she made a great impact, she lost because of the limited franchise.
“The WPEO not only encouraged women to vote, but also urged women in the charitable organisations to exert pressure on the colonial government to create improvements in social welfare, in general, and in housing conditions in particular.  Within the first three months it attracted approximately 165 members both working and middle class.
Mrs. Chanderpal recalled the events of Enmore and its impact on the lives of the Jagans in 1948, as well as other events that catalysed the formation of the PPP and the subsequent winning of elections of April 1953 under universal adult suffrage, when, for the first time, three women were elected to the House of Assembly.  Mrs. Jagan was elected Deputy-Speaker of British Guiana’s first House of Assembly – another first.
On May 27th 1953 the WPO was formed by Janet Jagan, Jane Phillips Gay and Mrs. Aukland, with the following mission statement: “The WPO stands better-educated women, who can bring up their children in surroundings of security; it stands for the raising of our living standards and it stands for peace and friendship among the peoples of the world and for the ultimate liberation of women from colonialism and poverty.”
Mrs Chanderpal said that it would be of interest to note that, just 2 days after the formation of the WPO Mrs. Jagan left British Guiana to participate in a meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, which was organized by the Women’s International Democratic Federation.  At that meeting she made a call for British Guiana to become an independent nation – a call that was being made by her husband at various for a, and she quoted Mrs. Jagan again, as follows:
“We, the colonized peoples under British domination, are obliged to sell at low prices and buy at high prices.  Thus wages never cover the cost-of-living; our women are hoping for a future granting them equal rights, and the possibility to develop their talents, as the women of Eastern Europe.  We are part of the peace movement, since we are aware of the fact that war threatens not only our people, but all of civilization.  Help us to win freedom for all the oppressed colonial people.”
Describing her mentor as a pioneer of the movement to improve the conditions of Guyanese women, who organized them in their communities, and at the national level, for equal treatment and full human rights, Mrs. Chanderpal said, “…she lived to see that vision becoming a reality, where she herself had attained the highest office of the land; where girls were excelling in all areas of life, and where free-and-fair elections had become a reality.
Mrs. Chanderpal said that the special role that Janet Jagan played in the formation of the PAC in 1946, and her many actions helped to light the torch of the popular movement for political independence in British Guiana, and that, when the PPP was formed, she was elected as the first General-Secretary of the Party and was indeed the driving force behind the Party’s dynamic organizational efforts for the rest of her life.
Reminding her audience that Mrs. Jagan had been sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour, Mrs Chanderpal said that former President Janet Jagan lived a purposeful life filled with many challenges and triumphs, and that her many feats are chronicled in various documents, but that the one which illustrates her passion and commitment is the reference by Dr. Jagan in his book, The West on Trial, when he referred to her role as a Minister of Labour, Health and Housing in the period 1957-1961.
Mrs. Chanderpal continued: “We are well aware of the various unions she had participated in, and from her actions and writings we know that she was a true friend of the working-class and a Champion for the independence of Guiana.
“During the 28 years when the PPP was in opposition she spent a considerable time working at the Mirror Newspaper, which came under severe threat by the dictatorial elements, and she also ensured the publication of Thunder.
Mrs. Chanderpal reminded her audience of the days when one became a criminal for possession of the most basic food items, which had been banned by the PNC administration, and said: “When the struggle was intensifying against the removal of essential commodities in Guyana, Janet Jagan was in the forefront of the demonstrations and other protests.  On international issues, she was always a part of the picketing exercises, whether it was for the release of Nelson Mandela, or in solidarity with the people of Palestine or Chile.
“Her role in the fights for the restoration of democracy was a relentless one, and she used her pen effectively to expose and inform of the infringements as they occurred.
“Her position as the First Lady was one of simplicity, humility and decorum.  While she was in a position of power she never allowed it to create a barrier from her and other people.  That in itself was greatness.
“When Dr. Jagan passed away she stood there as a tower of strength and provided comfort to all, even though her heart was bleeding.
“The election of 1997 was a very testing period for Mrs. Janet Jagan.  I recall, vividly, the campaign – the energy she displayed and the support which she received everywhere she went.  However, the violent protests by the opposition made her assumption to office a very difficult one.  For me it was a privilege to listen to her reflecting on the early stages of her struggle when she addressed the ceremonial opening of the 7th Parliament and declared”:
“Today, as I address you as the first woman Head-of-State, fond memories of the long and hard struggles of our people come to mind.  I particularly recall the plight of women in the late forties and the early fifties.  I remember the courage of many women who came forward in those dangerous times to join the struggle.  A momentous occasion was when, in 1953, I was among the first three women ever to be elected to Parliament after we had just completed a vigorous election campaign.  For me, it was doubly difficult since, in contesting the Essequibo constituency, which I won, my gender was a central issue as I had to do battle with two wealthy macho landowners.
“Our victory in 1953, and the spirit of oneness and togetherness which accompanied it, was like the end of a long eclipse which had engulfed our nation. That day, May 3, 1953, was a proud moment as the PPP Parliamentarians, with Cheddi Jagan and Forbes Burnham at the lead, marched from the Party’s headquarters to Parliament Buildings for the opening ceremony.
We were dressed in white sharkskin suits, the men wearing red ties and the women with red shoes, handbags, scarves and hats.  Dr Jagan would have preferred a more modest mode of dress, but nevertheless, we were all confident of the future and filled with patriotic fervour to start a process of genuine independence and economic and social progress.”