However, in traditionally patriarchal East Indian family groups, they have been described to act as subordinates, expected to obey cultural norms, such as not to practice living together with a partner without being married first and that the bride should maintain her virginity until consummation after marriage.

[3] In relation to caring for infants, Suriname's mothers place their babies inside cribs near them, particularly for sleeping, but they are separated into another room if already at the right age.

The women with Creole ancestry or are Afro-Surinamese wear the koto that is accompanied by a handkerchief or with head or body covering called as the angisa (also known as the anisa.

[4] Among the prominent women of Suriname are Elisabeth Samson, Cynthia McLeod, Marijke Djwalapersad, Jennifer Simons, and Ruth Wijdenbosch.

Cynthia McLeod (born as Cynthia Ferrier) is a Surinamese novelist, the half sister of Dutch politician Kathleen Ferrier (who is of Surinamese descent), who wrote about the life of Elisabeth Samson, a free black woman whose name occurs prominently in historical works on Suriname because she wanted to marry a white man (which was forbidden in the colony Suriname during the first half of the 18th century).