Kamla's victory an inspiration to Indian women

Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar has hailed her victory as an event that has brought a sense of "arrival" to East Indian women in Trinidad and Tobago.

Speaking at an Indian Arrival Day dinner sponsored by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) Persad-Bissessar said her victory on May 24 is the best gift they could have received.

The Prime Minister made a surprise appearance at the dinner along with her Attorney General, Anand Ramlogan.

The Prime Minister said he victory has helped Indian women in the country to feel a sense of belonging since they see in her achievements a victory for their great-grandmothers, grandmothers and mothers, who toiled under often adversarial conditions to raise their children.

Persad-Bissessar called on everyone to celebrate the nation's diversity.

SDMS general secretary, Sat Maharaj, said Persad-Bissessar has shown the country that Indian women are strong and progressive.

"There are citizens who are of the misguided notion that the Indian woman is a submissive female...Mrs. Persad-Bissessar has certainly shown us the substance and strength of Indian women," he said.

He spoke of the Indian woman's role in the past when families deprived their daughters of an education.

"The culture then was that girls were married off young, there was no education and no academic career," Maharaj said.