Sheryl Vangadasamy, a member of parliament from Seychelles, is seeking new ways to engage her constituents, particularly young men and women, to encourage their increased participation in the politics of her country.

She has just completed an eight-week stay at NDI as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, which brings hundreds of young professionals, civic leaders and politicians from Africa to the United States for four months of study, leadership training, and skills development. At NDI, Vangadasamy focused on learning tools and strategies that she can use to create more inclusive government in Seychelles.

“NDI has taught me that to be able to move something, to get something done, sometimes I need to restrategize, and that’s what I’m doing,” said Vangadasamy, who has represented the Seychellen district of Mont Buxton for the past three years. “I want to engage more of my people in a different way: using social media, using Facebook, using other new ways of doing things. But really, really getting them into politics.”

In an interview with NDI, Vangadasamy spoke about her experiences with the fellowship, her  future plans for Seychelles and her thoughts on the importance of women’s political participation.

National Democratic Institute: Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Sheryl Vangadasamy: My name is Sheryl Vangadasamy, I am an elected representative of the Mont Buxton district in Seychelles. I’ve been in office for the past three years, I’ve been a party activist for the past 13 to 14 years, I am a young member of parliament, I have background in police officer’s work and also as a public prosecutor, and I love what I’m doing.

NDI: How does women’s political participation contribute to making democracy deliver for the citizens of Seychelles?
Vangadasamy: The Seychelles National Assembly, for example, is ranked second in Africa and fifth worldwide. We have 45 percent of women MPs in parliament. And second to Rwanda in Africa, without affirmative action. I think that says a lot about women’s political participation in the Seychelles context. But at the same time, from my experience as a woman MP, I still think there are still many more [changes] that can be done to increase the numbers. But not only to increase the numbers, but to really engage women in politics in the sense that we are really making an impact that we are supposed to be making, not only in terms of policy decision making, but also in terms of impacting the people -- [getting] more women, especially young women -- to engage in politics. Seychelles is a matriarchal country, for example. Women tend to lead in the home. So as women are good managers in the home, I believe they can be good politicians, good managers, good ‘servant leaders’ in any sense. So I believe women’s contribution is very significant.

NDI: What do you see as the future of women’s political participation in Seychelles?
Vangadasamy: I -- for me, for the future -- see Seychelles’ women really leading in the right way: balancing work, balancing personal life, but making the right impact. And also providing the mentorship to other young women which we did not have, so that more women can come forward and join politics. And I want to encourage every woman, wherever they are, just to take that step of faith, that leap of faith, and start doing it and believe in yourself.

NDI: What barriers do young men and women face when trying to become more involved in government?
Vangadasamy: When I was in the University of Minnesota, I was put together with 24 other youths from other countries and you could see that they wanted to join politics, but they are afraid of the current systems in their countries that prevent them from joining politics. They are afraid to be able to even voice their opinions, be it for or be it against the government. So, they do not have that freedom to be able to do that. And, in a sense, I have that in a way in Seychelles, but I want other youth in Africa to be able to have that. Freedom of expression is important; as much as it is given, it should be applied responsibly, but giving the youth the voice to be able to do that and the opportunity to take leadership positions in politics is the right move for Africa and at this time it is very important.

NDI: What do you plan to do when you return to Seychelles?
Vangadasamy: I want to engage more of my people in a different way: using social media, using Facebook, using other new ways of doing things. But really, really getting them into politics. Maybe not the opposition and me or the ‘usual politics’ that people see, but the small kinds of politics. What are your views about what the minister said today about social affairs, for example? What are your views about having new drug laws in  the country? What are your views about how, until today, we do not have laws regarding sexual harassment of women in Seychelles? What are your views about it?

NDI: What has your experience been like working with NDI?
Vangadasamy: NDI has taught me that for me to be able to move something, to get something done, sometimes I need to restrategize, and that’s what I’m doing. And the tools, Win with Youth and Win with Women assessment tools and the gender inter-parliamentarian tools, are two tools that I want to take back home. I’m trying to go back to engage the civil society in Seychelles to get them to say, “We say that we are the second in Africa for women representation in parliament, but is this really the case in terms of impacting policies? Is this really the case in terms of making changes in our own country?,” Instead of just saying, “Yes we are the second in Africa.”  

Published Sept. 30, 2014