CIA report, 6 April 1950: Persatuan Wanita Republik Indonesia, Jakarta
CIA report, 6 April 1950, listing the Jakarta council of Perwari and labelling the group 'extreme right'. Context on Gerwis/Gerwani's main rival and sometime partner, and on the instability of US intelligence categories.
CIA report, 6 May 1954: Financial preparations for the Gerwis congress, March 1954
CIA report, 6 May 1954: Trimurti and Dr Thung Sin Nio collecting funds to finance the Gerwis (now Gerwani) congress in Jakarta, 25-31 March 1954, including from Chinese-Indonesian donors. Evidence on congress financing and cross-community support.
Dawn Over the Equator: Monica Felton on the Second Gerwani Congress, 1954
Monica Felton (WIDF Vice-President) writes in 1954 on the Second Congress of Gerwani, which she attended: 349 delegates, 80,000 members, a meeting with President Sukarno, resolutions on West Irian, the 1955 elections, a nationwide marriage law, democratic rights and support for the government against armed gangs. She s
FBIS, 4 April 1954: 'Gerwani' representatives visit Sukarno
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio (4 Apr 1954): President and Madame Sukarno received Gerwani members after their Second Congress; Sukarno said equal rights are not women's final mission, which needs a just, prosperous country. A Dutch women's movement member spoke for peace; Sukarno tied Indonesian-Dutch understanding to W
FBIS, 4 April 1954: Indonesian women support Geneva talks
FBIS-monitored Xinhua item (4 Apr 1954): at its congress (25 Mar-1 Apr, Jakarta) the Indonesian women's movement, Gerwani, pledged support for the Geneva Conference and demanded prohibition of weapons of mass destruction. Says Gerwani is the new name of the women's democratic federation (Gerwis), a permanent WIDF membe
FBIS, 25 September 1954: Report on USSR (Gerwani-sponsored meeting)
FBIS item (25 Sep 1954): on 24 September three Indonesian women who recently visited the Soviet Union lectured on their impressions: social care of women, workers, equal rights, absence of prostitution and marriage legislation. The meeting, sponsored by Gerwani, drew a large audience of women and trade unionists. Shows
FBIS, 19 February 1955: Peace campaign (Gerwani statement)
FBIS item (19 Feb 1955): Gerwani issued a statement on 18 Feb welcoming the Indonesian Peace Committee's appeal against war and the use of atomic and hydrogen bombs, urging members and all women to sign and aid the committee, and to take part in implementing plans for the all-Indonesia congress suggested by Sukarno. Sh
CIA intelligence survey of the PKI's history, structure and front organisations, May 1955, before the September 1955 elections. Section III.E (report pp. 49-50) profiles Gerwani: founded 1950 as Gerwis, renamed Gerwani at the March 1954 congress, 25,000+ members, S.K. Trimurti general chairman and Umi Sardjono chairman
Umi Sardjono's General Report to the Third DPP Plenum, June 1956
Umi Sardjono's general report for the Gerwani DPP Executive to the 3rd DPP Plenary (16-19 June 1956), published by DPP Gerwani. Reviews the 1955 election campaign (23,480 new Gerwani workers; five Gerwani members elected, including Umi Sardjono and Salawati), marriage-law and anti-polygamy casework (86 of 115 cases res
Let Us Respect All Opinions: speeches by Teng Ying-chao, Hajrah Begum and Suharti (1956)
1956 page of speeches to the WIDF Council: Teng Ying-chao (China), Hajrah Begum (India) and Suharti, Gerwani Vice-President and MP. Suharti reports Gerwani membership grew from 281,000 to 565,147, its cooperation at the Palembang Women's Congress (March 1955), International Children's Day events, and delegations demand
1956 WIDF bulletin item on Indonesia: the Gerwani Central Council's report on cooperation with other women's organisations, overcoming mistrust, membership rising from 281,000 to 565,147, local marriage-rights actions, rural work with peasant groups, the All-Indonesia Women's Congress adopting Gerwani's proposed Charte
Gerwani member Sansia arrested during Dulles visit to Jakarta (Kankakee Daily Journal, 12 March 1956)
Full 20-page issue of the Kankakee Daily Journal (Illinois), 12 March 1956. Front-page AP/UP report on US Secretary of State Dulles's visit to Jakarta (talks with Sukarno) says police arrested a woman named Sansia, who said she was a member of Gerwani, 'a leftist women's organization founded in 1954', over a banner pro
Dulles on Trip to Indonesia (Toowoomba Chronicle, 13 March 1956)
Toowoomba Chronicle, 13 Mar 1956, p. 3 (AAP-Reuters): US Secretary of State Dulles visits Jakarta after the SEATO conference; demonstrators shout 'Abolish SEATO' and 'We want peace, not war'. A young girl arrested for throwing a pamphlet says she is a Gerwani member; Gerwani had earlier protested the visit.
Dulles on Trip to Indonesia (Toowoomba Chronicle, 13 March 1956), duplicate
Toowoomba Chronicle, 13 Mar 1956, p. 3 (AAP-Reuters): US Secretary of State Dulles visits Jakarta after the SEATO conference; demonstrators shout 'Abolish SEATO' and 'We want peace, not war'. A young girl arrested for throwing a pamphlet says she is a Gerwani member; Gerwani had earlier protested the visit.
Communist Campaign in Indonesia (OIR report, July 1956)
State Department intelligence report (17 July 1956) on the Soviet and Chinese communist campaign in Indonesia after the 1956 visits, with a chronology of Indonesia-China exchanges. Gerwani features only in the chronology: a May 1956 Gerwani protest against US H-bomb tests, plus Indonesian delegations to the WIDF meetin
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1957): Gerwani leaders and branches, Umi Sardjono chair
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1957) extracts: a Central Borneo women's committee, including Gerwani, backing Sukarno's Concept and asking that marriage law be prioritised; Kowani's Fourth Congress (Surabaya) with Mudigdio of Gerwani as treasurer; Muljani as Central Java Gerwani chair; new North Sumatra and Jakart
Jakarta sets up National Council: Sukarno names members (New York Times, 16 June 1957)
New York Times, 16 June 1957, p.37, Special to the Times from Jakarta: Sukarno names the 45 members of the new National Council (Dewan Nasional), chaired by himself, with Roeslan Abdulgani as deputy chairman and secretary-general. About a quarter are described as Communists or sympathisers, including PKI member Sujono
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1958): National Conference of Communist Women
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1958) analysis of the First National Conference of Communist Women (Jakarta, 26-31 May 1958). Aidit's address presents the 'Communist woman' and calls for a wider Gerwani; Suharti Suwarto (Gerwani second deputy chair) and Sundari report on women's groups, only 100,000 women PKI membe
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1958): Gerwani branches, Kowani secretariat, Sulami
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1958) extracts: Kowani secretariat (Maria Ulfah Santoso chair, Mudigdio of Gerwani treasurer); Harian Rakjat's 30 Dec 1957 list of Gerwani's working council (Umi Sardjono chair; Mudigdio, Suharti, S.K. Trimurti deputies; Kartinah secretary-general; Sulami deputy; Suwati Sutrimo Sudji
FBIS, 6 May 1958: Gerwani message to the UN Secretary General protesting American intervention
FBIS Daily Report (6 May 1958), HathiTrust scan p.430: Xinhua report that Indonesian mass organisations endorsed Premier Djuanda's denunciation of US intervention (PRRI crisis). Gerwani sent a message to the UN Secretary-General strongly protesting American intervention and urging the UN to warn the US and expel the Ch
The Struggle is Just and a Just Struggle will Surely be Victorious (Suwarti, 1957/58)
Article by Suwarti Bintang Suradi (Gerwani), dated Berlin 20 Dec 1957, in WIDF's magazine on Indonesia's West Irian campaign: mass rally of a million in Jakarta, ten-minute silence, general strike in Dutch firms, takeover of Dutch enterprises, KLM ban, UN defeat, international support. Names Gerwani among organisations
FBIS, 5 May 1958: Protests by mass organizations
FBIS-monitored Xinhua report (5 May 1958), a noisier excerpt of the same item as GA-02461: Indonesian mass organisations endorsed Premier Djuanda's denunciation of US intervention; the Peasants' Front claimed 3.5 million members; Gerwani sent a strong protest to the UN Secretary-General and demanded expulsion of the Ch
Birth and Growth of the Indonesian Women's Movement, Part I (Sulami, 1959)
Part I of Sulami's 1959 history of the Indonesian women's movement in WIDF's magazine: Kartini, Putri Merdika (1912), Wanita Sedar, the 1928 Women's Congress, the Congress League of Indonesian Women, and demands on marriage, education and voting rights through 1941, with PKI influence noted after 1920. Prefaces the bir
Birth and Growth of the Indonesian Women's Movement, Part III (Sulami, 1959)
Part III of Sulami's 1959 history: KOWANI conflicts and 1948 Solo congress, founding of Gerwis at Semarang (4 June 1950), its 1954 renaming as Gerwani, structure with six commissions, membership growth (6,000 Java 1951; 642,460 in January 1957; 700,000 at the Third Congress, Solo, Dec 1957), 1955 election results (5 MP
The Marriage Law
Tribune (Sydney), 18 Feb 1959, p. 4: brief Jakarta dispatch reporting that Gerwani, 'the influential Indonesian women's organisation', called on women to struggle for a democratic marriage law and demanded the Constituent Assembly guarantee women equal political, economic, social and family rights, as Parliament prepar
The Marriage Law
Tribune (Sydney), 18 Feb 1959, p. 4: brief Jakarta dispatch reporting that Gerwani, 'the influential Indonesian women's organisation', called on women to struggle for a democratic marriage law and demanded the Constituent Assembly guarantee women equal political, economic, social and family rights, as Parliament prepar
Hula hoops 'improper' (Evening Post, 3 April 1959)
Evening Post (Wellington), 3 April 1959, UPI report 'Hula Hoops Improper': the Indonesian Women's Movement (probably Gerwani, though not named) urged the government to ban hula hoops as inconsistent with Eastern ethics and harmful to mental health, as Surabaya military authorities warned hooping children about decency.
Hula hoops 'improper' (Evening Post, 3 April 1959), headline clipping
Headline-only clipping ('Hula Hoops Improper') of the Evening Post article of 3 April 1959 on the Indonesian Women's Movement's call for a hula hoop ban; no further text.
Hula hoops 'improper' (Evening Post, 3 April 1959), article clipping
Article-body clipping from the Evening Post, 3 April 1959: the Indonesian Women's Movement urged Indonesia's government to ban hula hoops as contrary to Eastern ethics and harmful to mental health, as reported by UPI from Jakarta, alongside a Surabaya military warning on decency.
FBIS, 7 July 1959: Parties express support of Sukarno (1945 constitution decree)
FBIS summary (7 Jul 1959) of a broadcast report to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific on reactions to Sukarno's decree reinstating the 1945 constitution and dissolving the Constituent Assembly: Catholic Party, Democratic Youth, film union, PKI, economic congress and SOBSI supported it. Final line: the Indonesian Wo