Umi Sardjono, Gerwani's Pendulum (Historia Infographic, 2020)
Historia infographic (2020) with a timeline of Umi Sardjono, Gerwani chair: born Semarang 1923 as Suharti, anti-Japanese underground work, leadership of Gerwani, and detention ending at Plantungan. Popular biographical summary.
Sulami's narrative versus the New Order narrative (Rahayu, 2020)
Ruth Indiah Rahayu's 2020 essay introducing Sulami's unpublished two-volume prison novel Menanti Rembulan Ndadari, written in the 1970s, with Sulami's biography (arrested 6 Oct 1967) and the conditions of writing in Bukit Duri and Tangerang, set against New Order narratives.
Tempo.co fact-check, 15 June 2020: Did Ribka Tjiptaning call Jokowi's mother a Gerwani-PKI chair?
Tempo.co fact-check (15 June 2020) debunking a Facebook meme that PDI-P MP Ribka Tjiptaning said Jokowi's mother chaired Gerwani PKI. Ribka never said it (she wrote 'Aku Bangga Jadi Anak PKI', 2002) and Jokowi's mother Sudjiatmi was no Gerwani leader; a biography by Wawan Mas'udi and Ramdhon is cited. Shows Gerwani inv
Tempo, 3 October 2020: Cinema of friendship between women ex-prisoners ('You and I')
Tempo feature (3 Oct 2020) on Fanny Chotimah's documentary 'You and I' (DMZ festival award) about Solo ex-political prisoners Kaminah and Kusdalini, Pemuda Rakyat/Gita Patria choir members detained in 1965 and later rejected by family; contrasts it with the Pengkhianatan film's razor-blade scene and the Plantungan docu
A bitter portrait of 1965 survivors in You and I (Historia, 2021)
Historia review (5 May 2021) of Fanny Chotimah's documentary You and I, following two elderly Solo survivors, Kaminah and Sri Kusdalini, former choir members under Pemuda Rakyat held as political prisoners; Kaminah's bond began in Gerwis/Gerwani's women's field. Film review.
Legal aspects of dissolving the FPI
Ambon Ekspres, 5 Jan 2021, p. 4: opinion on the FPI ban by a student; cites Gerwani as the 'concrete example' of a PKI 'underbow' dissolved for its members' crimes. Shows Gerwani as a legal precedent in contemporary debate.
Tempo.co, 14 April 2021: Film 'You and I' about two women ex-prisoners streams online
Short Tempo.co news item (14 Apr 2021) that the documentary 'You and I' by Fanny Chotimah, about ex-political prisoners Kaminah and Kusdalini, streams on Bioskop Online from 9 April 2021 after winning the Festival Film Indonesia 2020 documentary prize and the DMZ Asian Perspective Award. Mostly promotional; Gerwani is
Tempo, 1 May 2021: Rukiah's second life
Tempo feature (1 May 2021) on publisher Ultimus (Bandung) reissuing works by woman writer S. Rukiah, banned after 1965 because she was jailed as a Lekra activist: 'Kejatuhan dan Hati' and 'Tandus' (2017), children's book 'Pak Supi' (2018), and nine more children's titles found in libraries. Gerwani is not mentioned.
Tale of two Lekra writers: S. Rukiah Kertapati (Tempo, 1 May 2021)
Tempo feature, 1 May 2021, by Moyang Kasih Dewi Merdeka and Hardian Putra Pratama, on the forgotten Lekra writer S. Rukiah Kertapati: poet and novelist, Lekra leadership member from the 1959 congress, wife of BTI leader Sidik Kertapati. Soldiers took her from Purwakarta (article dates the arrest 1969; she was held at C
Mysterious poet and supporter of children's literature: Sugiarti Siswadi (Tempo, 1 May 2021)
Tempo article, 1 May 2021, by Isma Savitri and Hardian Putra Pratama, on Lekra writer Sugiarti Siswadi: Lekra central leadership member from 1959, children's-literature advocate, author of the banned Sorga Dibumi, and editor of Api Kartini. Researchers cannot trace her life; one suspects she was jailed in Semarang in 1
Tempo, 2 October 2021: The burden of trauma of 1965 (why Umi Sardjono was not open about Gerwani's history)
Tempo feature (2 Oct 2021, Dini Pramita and Bagja Hidayat) on why Gerwani chair Umi Sardjono (Suharti Sumodiwiryo) said little after 13 years in Bukit Duri (to 1978). Drawn from Ita Nadia, Ruth Indiah Rahayu, others: she wept at accounts of rape and Sudjinah's injury, 'it is my responsibility'; friendships with Fransis
Tempo, 2 October 2021: Gerwani, Sukarno and polygamy (Gerwani and the dilemma of brotherhood)
Tempo essay (2 Oct 2021) by I Gusti Agung Ayu Ratih on why Gerwani did not criticise Sukarno's polygamy. It recounts Kowani expelling Gerwani on 29 Oct 1965 and removing Hurustiati Subandrio in 1966, the erasure of Gerwani from women's movement history, Perwari rivalry, Gerwani members' reverence for Sukarno, and anti-
Tempo, 2 October 2021: Song of the alarm (Umi Sardjono in Bukit Duri prison)
Tempo feature (2 Oct 2021, Riky Ferdianto and Mustafa Silalahi) on Umi Sardjono in Bukit Duri prison (detained 20 Oct 1965, solitary cell as category A, 'Senayan cluster' with Dahliar, Mudigdio, Salawati Daud, Kartinah Kurdi). Witnesses Mudjiati, Utati, Nani Nurani Affandi describe forced confessions of Lubang Buaya da
Tempo, 2 October 2021: Black propaganda against Gerwani (Ita Fatia Nadia)
Op-ed by Ita Fatia Nadia in Tempo (2 Oct 2021) tracing the army-controlled press campaign from 7 Oct 1965 that cast Gerwani as sexually sadistic, contradicted by the military doctors' autopsy (Roebiono Kertapati). It links the slander to the mass killings, Kowani's expulsion of Gerwani (29 Oct 1965), Lubang Buaya volun
Tempo, 2 October 2021: Umi Sardjono and the annual PKI ghost
Tempo column (2 Oct 2021, Budi Setyarso) using Umi Sardjono's life to argue that 1965 history is still painted in black and white. It notes her arrest without trial, Bukit Duri and Plantungan until 1979, Gerwani's origins in Gerwis, about 1.5 million members by 1960, literacy courses, her immigration and marriage-law w
Tempo, 2 October 2021: Umi Sardjono and the stigma on Gerwani (why we rewrote the history of Gerwani and Umi Sardjono)
Tempo editor's note (2 Oct 2021, Moyang Kasih Dewi Merdeka and Seno Joko Suyono) on why the magazine rewrote Umi Sardjono's life. It describes her silence after release, trauma and fear of surveillance (Wieringa 1981, Pohlman 2005), her arrest at Senayan and Bukit Duri detention, the lack of memoir or traces, and sourc
Tempo English, 4 October 2021: End of the Road (Umi Sardjono)
English-edition Tempo cover story 'End of the Road' (4 Oct 2021, Retno Sulistyowati), a translation from the Umi Sardjono special report. It traces Umi's formation in Pathuk Youth, Pesindo, BBW with S.K. Trimurti, Madiun 1948 arrest, founding of Gerwis (Semarang, 3-6 Jun 1950), Gerwani growth from 80,000 to 650,000 (19
Tempo English, 4 October 2021: From a civil servant's daughter to an underground activist (Umi Sardjono)
Tempo English cover story (4 Oct 2021, Isma Savitri) on Umi Sardjono's early life, drawing on Ruth Indiah Rahayu and Lilik H.S. Born Suharti Sumodiwirjo in Salatiga in 1923 to a civil servant, she was shaped by Kartini, Parindra and Gerindo, worked as an underground courier in East Java, was tortured by the Japanese in
Tempo English, 4 October 2021: Opinion - Umi Sardjono and communism phobia (the annual ghost)
English edition of the Tempo column 'Umi Sardjono and the Annual Ghost' (4 Oct 2021) arguing that 1965 history is still black and white. It uses Umi Sardjono's life (arrest without trial, Bukit Duri, Plantungan to 1979), Gerwani's Gerwis origins, a mid-1960s membership of 1.5 million, literacy classes, her immigration
Tempo English, 4 October 2021: Traumatic burden of 1965 (Umi Sardjono's last years)
Tempo English cover story 'Traumatic Burden of 1965' (4 Oct 2021, Dini Pramita) on Umi Sardjono's silence and guilt after release in 1978. Ita Fatia Nadia read her a Medan woman's testimony of gang rape and public parading, and showed Sudjinah's X-ray; Umi wept, saying it was her responsibility. It covers her life in t
Tempo English, 4 October 2021: Umi Sardjono and allegations against Gerwani (editors' note)
English edition of the Tempo editors' note 'Umi Sardjono and Allegations Against Gerwani' (4 Oct 2021, Moyang Kasih Dewi Merdeka) introducing the special report. It describes Umi's silence, trauma and fear of surveillance (Wieringa 1981, Pohlman 2005), her arrest at Senayan and detention at Bukit Duri, the absence of m
Tempo English, 4 October 2021: Women warriors (Gerwani infographic)
Tempo English infographic 'Women Warriors' (4 Oct 2021, text by Hussein Abri Dongoran) summarising Gerwani: founded 1954 from Gerwis (1950), disbanded 1965 after New Order accusations. It lists the central board (Umi Sardjono chair, Mudikdio, Suharti, S.K. Trimurti, Sulami Djojoprawiro, Sudjinah and others), the jasmin
Mohammad Arief, santri's son who composed Genjer-genjer (Historia preview, 2022)
Historia.id article (preview only, 2022) on the song Genjer-genjer and its composer Mohammad Arief, countering the film's claim that Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat sang it by saying it reflects Japanese-occupation suffering and that Arief was a santri's son. Partial text.
Tempo, 20 August 2022: Mia Bustam's third memoir (learning not to hold grudges)
Tempo feature (20 Aug 2022, Dian Yuliastuti and Seno Joko Suyono) on the launch of Mia Bustam's third memoir, 'Kelindan Asa dan Kenyataan'. It recounts her arrest in Yogyakarta on 23 Nov 1965, 13 years' detention without trial (Vredeburg, Wirogunan, Plantungan, Bulu) for Lekra membership, release in 1978, and her later
Mia Bustam's paintings and embroidery (Tempo, 20 Aug 2022)
Tempo feature (20 Aug 2022) by Seno Joko Suyono and Nurdin Kalim on the paintings and embroidery of Mia Bustam, former wife of the painter S. Sudjojono. Her children recall her Lekra activity, the loss of a self-portrait when the Lekra secretariat was raided in 1965, and works made in Wirogunan prison (1966-71) and at
Tempo, 2 October 2022: Memory of sewing machines and smuggled paper (political prisoners at Plantungan and Buru)
Tempo report (2 Oct 2022, Dini Pramita and Dody Hidayat) on forced labour and memory of 1965 political prisoners. Yosephina Endang Lestari recalls Plantungan women's camp (sewing unit, Santiaji Pancasila, poor health); Ita F. Nadia describes its five aims including re-domestication of women. Hersri Setiawan (Buru) and
Tempo, 20 November 2022: Dialita's bold voice (Akademi Jakarta award)
Tempo report (20 Nov 2022, Dian Yuliastuti and Seno Joko Suyono) on the Dialita choir winning the 2022 Akademi Jakarta award. Formed 2011 by daughters and women ex-prisoners (including Utati and Mudjiati, Bukit Duri and Plantungan), it sings songs composed in detention, such as 'Salam Harapan' and 'Taman Bunga Plantung
Tempo.co, 22 May 2023: S.K. Trimurti, Indonesia's first labour minister, and her political journey
Tempo.co profile (22 May 2023, Febyana Siagian and S. Dian Andryanto) of SK Trimurti, journalist and Indonesia's first labour minister. It covers her birth in Boyolali (1912), teacher training, Rukun Wanita, Partindo in Bandung, press work, witnessing the BPUPKI and the 1945 proclamation push, KNIP membership, and the
Tempo, 17 September 2023: Why 1965 exiles will not return home
Tempo report (17 Sep 2023, Raymundus Rikang and Stefanus Pramono) on 1965 exiles who decline to return despite visa and residence facilities offered by ministers Mahfud Md. and Yasonna Laoly in Amsterdam and Prague. Sri Budiarti (Aachen, ex-student in Budapest) demands truth and an apology and removal of the stigma tha
Tempo.co, 10 December 2024: Mia Bustam's fourth memoir, portrait of a resilient woman
Tempo.co report (10 Dec 2024, Istiqomatul Hayati and Ihsan Reliubun) on the launch of Mia Bustam's fourth memoir, 'Mutiara Kisah Masa Lalu' (Ultimus, 7 Dec 2024), completing her tetralogy. It gives her biography, arrest on 23 Nov 1965, 13 years' detention (including Plantungan) as a Lekra member, and her children's acc