{"id":645,"date":"2025-10-21T16:10:02","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T14:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/walkofpride.amsterdam\/?post_type=hero&p=645"},"modified":"2026-07-29T09:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T07:12:16","slug":"maureen-tardjopawiro","status":"publish","type":"hero","link":"https:\/\/walkofpride.amsterdam\/en\/heroes\/maureen-tardjopawiro\/","title":{"rendered":"Maureen Tardjopawiro"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Author: Marvin Sutherland<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maureen Tardjopawiro was loving, lively, and unforgettable. With her broad smile, sparkling eyes, and infectious joy, she brought light into every room. At the same time, she was sharp, fierce, and unwavering when it came to one fundamental truth: everyone has the right to be fully themselves\u2014woman, child, gay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young, courageous, and ahead of her time<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 1980, at the age of 19, Maureen Tardjopawiro (born 1961) stood in front of classrooms full of secondary school students. It was a time when homosexuality was rarely discussed openly or safely\u2014certainly not among groups of teenagers eager to appear tough. The boys in the classroom wanted to impress\u2014each other, the girls, their friends. Macho behavior was the norm. If you deviated from it, you became the target of jokes, rejection, harsh words, or worse: exclusion. The term LGBTQIA+ had yet to be invented. There was little language, little recognition, little understanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was precisely in that environment that Maureen stepped forward. She provided education about homosexuality\u2014with courage, clarity, and warmth. Close, approachable. Not preaching, not accusing or judging, but understanding\u2014aimed at opening minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gentle at heart, strong in spirit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Those who knew Maureen remember her zest for life. She loved going out, dancing, laughing, and enjoying life. She celebrated life wholeheartedly. She was warm and radiant\u2014soft, loving, naturally connecting. But do not be mistaken. Beneath that softness was an incredibly strong backbone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it came to her work, her studies, or issues that touched her deeply, Maureen became entirely serious. She was focused, sharp, and determined. She could listen with empathy, but she could also speak with striking clarity. Especially when it concerned women, LGBTQ+ people, and those who were not free to be themselves, her fighting spirit came immediately to the fore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SUHO Women<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1980, Lionel Jokhoe and Max Lievendag<\/a> founded SUHO, the first organization for LGBTQ+ people of color in the Netherlands. A year later, SUHO Women was established. Tieneke Sumter and Maureen Tardjopawiro wrote in the SUHO newspaper: \u201cWe (that is, Tieneke and Maureen) would very much like to see women within SUHO become more active. As things stand, SUHO is almost entirely run by men. In our view, that must change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The women pointed out that the conversation needed to address not only homophobia and racism within dominant white and Surinamese cultures, but also sexism. This led to special themed evenings, discussion groups, women\u2019s gatherings, and parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within the Surinamese community at large, Maureen worked on behalf of gay people at a time when the term boeler<\/em> was a deeply offensive insult. The term carried shame, exclusion, and humiliation. Maureen refused to give any room to that shame. Instead, she chose to look people directly in the eye and focus on their dignity. Her message was simple and powerful: you are not less because you are different. You do not need to make yourself smaller to belong. You have the right to exist\u2014100% as you are. \u201cDon\u2019t mess with this lady\u201d\u2014not because she wanted to be harsh, but because her love was firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strength of her foremothers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maureen\u2019s fighting spirit did not come out of nowhere. It had roots. In her family, women were the living examples when it came to forging a path for themselves, even when their surroundings made it difficult. Her Javanese grandmother wanted to become a dancer\u2014not exactly what her family had in mind for her. Dancing was not always seen as respectable or appropriate, but she followed her heart. Her example of individuality, courage, and self-love endured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maureen\u2019s mother was another important source of strength. As a single mother, she raised three children. When Maureen was advised to attend a lower-level vocational school, her mother did not accept this unquestioningly. She believed in her daughter\u2019s capacities. Maureen proved that belief to be correct. Through determination and ambition, she continued her education\u2014from secondary school to higher vocational training and eventually to university, where she earned a degree in psychology\u2014even if it meant attending night school to learn mathematics and statistics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She instilled the following conviction in her daughter, Tiga: \u201cWe women do not need men; we can take care of ourselves.\u201d She carried that same drive into her activist work: Never let anyone tell you what you can or cannot do, and never let anyone make you feel less worthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education, (self-)love, and strength<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maureen committed herself to the rights and dignity of LGBTQ+ people, particularly within the Surinamese community. She gave educational sessions, participated in weekends, conferences, and meetings, and engaged in conversations that were often tense, sensitive, or uncomfortable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her activism was deeply personal. It was about families, dinner tables, faith, culture, shame, pride, and love. It was about young people who were afraid of rejection. About parents who lacked the language or understanding when their child came out. About Surinamese communities learning that same-sex love is not a threat or a disgrace, but an everyday human reality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maureen knew that change does not come simply from speaking loudly. Change requires presence, patience, humor, repetition\u2014and sometimes confrontation. She knew how to combine those elements. She brought softness where people had hardened, and sharpness where people looked away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her goal was clear: LGBTQ+ people should truly be able to be themselves. Not partly. Not only outside the community. Not only behind closed doors. But visibly, with dignity and freedom\u2014also within the Surinamese community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fighting with love until the end<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the final seven years of her life, Maureen lived with multiple system atrophy (MSA), a progressive neurological disease that gradually affects more and more bodily functions\u2014arms, legs, body, hands, and voice. For someone so lively, expressive, and active, this must have been an immensely difficult path. Yet Maureen remained herself: loving, dignified, and resilient, with a smile on her face and fire in her eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A neighbor once said to her: \u201cI find you so brave.\u201d To which Maureen replied: \u201cI am grateful, happy, and glad for what I do have.\u201d That response says it all. Even as her body failed her, she continued to focus on what remained\u2014love, connection, dignity, life itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the end, she could barely move her arms, legs, or body. Swallowing and chewing became difficult. Yet when her neurologist asked about her quality of life, she consistently rated it a 9. Her spirit, her love, and her will to live refused to diminish alongside her physical decline. Maureen did not give up. She remained present\u2014fighting, loving, and dignified. A true \u201cLove Warrior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A loving fighter for the right to be yourself<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Maureen Tardjopawiro deserves to be remembered as one of the courageous advocates for LGBTQ+ people within the Surinamese community. Together with people such as Lionel Jokhoe, Max Lievendag, Tieneke Sumter, and other pioneers\u2014many of whose names still deserve recognition\u2014she helped create space where there had previously been silence, shame, or rejection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her legacy lives on in everyone who breathes more freely today. In young people who find the words for who they are. In families who learn to listen. In communities that gradually become more open and empathetic. In activists who understand that struggle does not have to come without love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maureen showed that gentleness is not weakness, that joy can be a form of resistance, and that a smile and a straight posture can go hand in hand. And that one person\u2014with courage, warmth, and conviction\u2014can open a door through which others may later walk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her life tells us: do not be afraid of your light. Do not be afraid of your truth. And above all, do not be afraid to stand up for the dignity of others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is Maureen\u2019s strength. That is her Walk of Pride.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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