She Has Risen
Getting to Know The Honourable Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar
Photographed by Calvin French for Caribbean Belle

I first shook hands with The Honourable Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar at Bombay Dreams charity event, in aid of the The Children’s Life Fund, a mere few days ago. She uttered the words “thank you” in a warm, heartfelt manner, as she was indeed grateful to all who supported the event.

She stated unequivocally that night, that her speech at that event was in fact the most important she has made since being elected – because the cause was so close to her heart. She was overjoyed that a hospital in the United States had agreed to admit some cases of critically ill children from her country, free of charge. This passion for the well being of the children of Trinidad and Tobago indeed gains her recognition as the Mother of the Nation.

Her realness was evident from day one, as members of the Caribbean Belle team had the honor of working with her. Calvin French, our creative director, says, unapologetically, “The camera loves her;” and Peter Elias who has overseen her Hilary Clinton-esque wardrobe, remarks on her uniqueness and authenticity, “No look has been invented for her; she was not made to look the part; she is who she is. She was natural.” Indeed, she’s as charming as she looks, and as fierce and fearless as her position demands.

As beloved Prime Minister, her strength radiates from a wholesome ability to connect with people; a refreshing and necessary trait, especially for people who have felt disconnected from leaders of the past. When asked how someone as graceful as her handles tough political life she says, “We have to do it!” And one instantly believes her.

Kamla Persad-Bissessar received multiple awards internationally - from Time, Foreign Policy and Glamour - less than five months after creating history in her native Trinidad and Tobago through a landslide victory in the 2010 general elections as leader of a coalition party, and more significantly, as the first female Prime Minister.

In her Glamour “Woman of the Year” acceptance speech, the Prime Minister thanked her mother, Rita, who passed on long before her daughter made history. Indeed this was fitting, as Persad-Bissessar’s earliest memory of a woman’s struggle for equality in the developing Caribbean (1960’s), was of her mother.

When Persad-Bissessar was 16 (she was born April 4, 1952) she had the nearly unheard of ambition to go to England to further her studies. For a girl growing up in rural Penal and the daughter of a traditional Hindu father, this was downright taboo. Her father preferred that she followed tradition by settling into marriage and motherhood.

But her mother battled with him, and won.

Persad-Bissessar’s struggle for the advancement of women, and the safety and security of children, is quite evident in her personal and political life. She affirms in the aforementioned speech: "I hold this award up for the young girls and their parents. I want you to know that it's OK to dream big dreams. The world is your oyster!” 

Persad-Bissessar spent an eventful four years working and studying in England, encountering white racism, and falling in love with future husband Dr Gregory Bissessar. Moreover, she was determined that her life would be dedicated to equal opportunities for women in education; equal opportunity for all.

Love and family took her to Jamaica in the early 1970s, where her husband was studying medicine at the Mona Campus and she, lecturing. Her fourteen year stay in that country, at a time when black power was being asserted by Jamaica’s culture more than any other island, empowered her with that sense of truly being a Caribbean citizen. She remembers the days of violent, dangerous gang wars and spending one entire night on campus on the hard, concrete floor of the female bathroom (the safest place to be) as bullets ricocheted around her.

But what truly left its indelible mark was reggae music, and thus began her love affair with Bob Marley’s legendary style and the expression of her own dreams eminent in her defining  ‘No Woman No Cry’ speech (2007):

“I have often been the lone woman's voice in a huge sea of men. That is what I have stood out for in my political career...being the first woman to do several things. I remember clearly what drove my decisions in those days as I voted for certain bills, and as I contributed to debates in Parliament and took certain stances in the country. It was the full and complete knowledge that I was in a rare position...as one of the few female representatives of this country...it was my duty to assume the natural role of mother when it came to national issues.

In that sea of men who argued and cussed each other...I knew I had to be the rare voice of fairness, nurturing, caring and love. I knew that my vote was always influenced by the thought of how those policies or stances would affect the heart, mind and bodies of the country. My maternal instincts made me choose sometimes not by my head, but my heart. But as any true mother, those instincts were never wrong. And so, I cared for the people of my constituency, my party and the nation, as a mother. I did it because of the great love of my country. I am the woman who has awoken and I will never turn back.”

On her return to Trinidad and Tobago in the 1980s, the now seasoned academic saw the social and economic changes her country had undergone under the George Chambers led PNM and she fell right into the One Love spirit of unity and hope that had captured the island for the first time in its highly polarized ethnic and religious political culture. She entered politics with the National Alliance for Reconstruction as an alderman in Siparia’s Regional Corporation, saying her dream was simply to ensure that people of the rural communities from which she hailed did not continue to suffer from neglect and poverty.

Her sense of justice, fair play, and equality coupled with a genuine desire for education for all - clearly reflected in her success with Universal Secondary Education in 2000, when she served as Minister of Education - motivated her to climb taller political ladders; she became the first Indian woman and indeed the first woman to be her country’s Attorney General, acting Prime Minister, Opposition Leader, Political Leader and then Prime Minister in the United National Congress (a party she labored for under the mentoring of her former political guru, Basdeo Panday, for over 20 years).

Her whirlwind success in defeating Basdeo Panday as leader of the UNC, uniting all opposing parties, and defeating the powerful PNM regime under Patrick Manning in a mere five months is as legendary as it is exceptional in perhaps any political history of any country. Her mantra then till now was “Serve the People,” “Serve the People,” “Serve the People,” and “We Will Rise.”

Now that she has risen, it’s business as always for this unique woman. She has gained critical acclaim for her pioneering contribution to politics and social restructuring and gender equality in the world. As Prime Minister, she has continued that trailblazing style of leadership that is a mix of her independent, intelligent, charismatic, compassionate and lovable personality. She has taken on the difficult task of transforming Trinidad & Tobago’s economy with some tough measures, but has found time and money (admittedly by a salary cut for herself and her Cabinet Ministers) to raise funds for children in need.

And when this very busy woman finds a few moments for herself, it’s still to be “Kamla”- the family woman who listens to Bob Marley and who loves to spend time with her grandchildren.

Four year old Christiano, her grandson, does not see his beloved grandma as the woman who history will record in more ways than can be listed. He still grabs her cell phone and reminds whichever powerful global leader is on the line with the Prime Minister at the moment that “That’s my mama.” And at the end of the day, that’s just fine with her.

This article was a collaborative effort between Aliyyah Eniath (introduction) and Sasha Mohammed. Special thanks to Justin Joseph.