CIA weekly, 9 August 1954: Recent communist conciliatory gestures and exchanges between the orbit and the non-communist
CIA weekly 'Recent Communist Conciliatory Gestures...' (9 Aug 1954), a long chronology of Soviet-bloc exchanges. The only Gerwani item (p.24, 1 August 1954) says the Indonesian women's organisation GERWANI, labelled Communist-front, was reported planning to send ten women on a three-week tour of the USSR, reciprocating
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
WIDF commemorative booklet (Berlin, 1955) for its tenth anniversary: history from the 1945 Paris founding congress, peace and anti-atom campaigns, the 1953 Copenhagen Congress, children's work, the 1955 Lausanne World Congress of Mothers. Page 28 states that in Indonesia 'the women's organization which had 6,000 member
Keynotes of the Council Meeting: Unity and Confidence (Bertrand, 1955)
Simone Bertrand, WIDF Assistant General Secretary, reports in 1955 on the Fifth WIDF Council meeting in Geneva (45 countries). She cites GERWANI as a remarkable example: mostly peasant and plantation women, membership up from 80,000 to 281,000 in a year, and with nine organisations it formed a committee opposing a US b
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
Letter from Emma Poeradiredja to Helen Fowler, 12 January 1957
Letter from Emma Poeradiredja (Bandung, 12 January 1957) to Helen Fowler, answering a request to describe Indonesian women's work. She explains the Kongres Wanita Indonesia umbrella, its three foundations, women's organisations by type (social, officials' wives, political), kindergartens, schools, cooperatives and the
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
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
CIA Current Intelligence Weekly Summary, 12 November 1959
CIA Current Intelligence Weekly Summary, 12 Nov 1959, a long multi-topic report; the Indonesia part (pp.23-27) assesses PKI strength (Aidit's claim of 1.5 million members, Java as base, army and Sukarno restrictions, Aidit's 1959 Moscow and Peking trip). It names GERWANI as the PKI's women's front, alongside Pemuda Rak
Soviet Relations with Indonesia, State Department Files 1960-1963
Compilation of State Department central-file items on Soviet relations with Indonesia, 1960-63 (telegrams, airgrams, despatches). One airgram (7 Dec) 'Soviets Woo Indo Women' describes the Soviet ambassador's wife hosting Indonesian women's leaders at the embassy, noting Gedung Wanita as a hub for Gerwani and Kongres W
One OCR page (p. 17) of a US Joint Publications Research Service translation, Political Affairs in Indonesia (1960), a numbered list of names with occupations. Entry 188 is Mrs Suwarti Bintang Suradi, 'Former Member of Constituency Djakarta'; entry 189 is Mrs S.D. Susanto, same description; entry 153 is Mrs Sutinah Suk
Weekly Situation Reports, Indonesia, January 1960 (State Department Central Files)
Compilation of Djakarta embassy weekly political, economic and military situation telegrams to the State Department, January 1960. One item (21 Jan) reports labour union and women representatives picketing the Trade Minister's office over prices despite an army ban, with a newspaper identifying many women as members of
Indonesian Defense Affairs: Biographical Profiles, April 1960
Compilation of US embassy Djakarta despatches (April 1960) giving biographical profiles of members of the Supreme Advisory Council and other leaders. Gerwani appears in the profile of PSII chairman Arudji Kartawinata, whose wife was a Gerwani member (1954) and praised China after a Nov 1959 Beijing visit; women members
Weekly Situation Reports on Indonesian Politics, September 1960
Compilation of Djakarta embassy weekly situation telegrams to the State Department, September 1960, on the army-Sukarno struggle over the PKI ban and a temporary ban on party activity. Gerwani is mentioned only in passing among PKI front organisations (with SOBSI, BTI) protesting bans.
Indonesian Labor Conditions: Unions, December 1960
Short compilation of US embassy telegrams and airgrams (Dec 1960) on Indonesian labour and unions. A 3 Dec telegram reports the South Sumatra-Jambi military command's continued ban on PKI and affiliates including SOBSI, PERBUM, Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani after regulation changes; other items concern SOBSI and union cond
Communism and the PKI, Despatch of January 1961
US embassy Djakarta despatch compilation (Jan 1961) analysing communism and the PKI, including its front organisations. The overview describes Gerwani as the communist women's organisation used for price and anti-bomb demonstrations, affiliated with the WIDF (which funds trips abroad for prominent members), and contras
US Embassy Despatches on PKI Tactics and the SOBSI Women's Labour Seminar, May 1961
US Embassy Djakarta despatches to the State Department, May 1961. One reports conservative views (Mohammad Roem) that the PKI won a limited victory by gaining legal recognition. The other reports the SOBSI National Seminar on Labouring Women (Jakarta, 11-14 May 1961), attended by Djuanda and Gerwani central board membe
Peking Review no. 52, 29 December 1961: Chinese women's delegation greets Fourth Gerwani Congress
Peking Review no. 52 (29 Dec 1961), weekly Chinese state magazine. Gerwani appears only in a short 'China and the World' item (p. 20): Kuo Chien, head of the Chinese women's delegation to Gerwani's Fourth National Congress (Djakarta, 14-17 Dec), sent greetings backing Indonesian women's struggle for West Irian. The iss
Dilemmas of Indonesian Communism (van der Kroef, 1962)
Article by Justus M. van der Kroef (Pacific Affairs, summer 1962) on the PKI's dilemmas under Guided Democracy: dependence on Sukarno, the July 1960 'Evaluation' clash with the army, and the party's use of mass fronts. Gerwani is named as the PKI's women's front: its organ was aggressive without censure in 1961, and in
Recognise the Indonesian just claim: Unite to build friendship!
Tribune (Sydney), 10 Jan 1962, p. 1 front-page editorial backing Sukarno's proclamation of West Irian as an Indonesian province and attacking the Menzies government and ALP leader Calwell. Gerwani appears only in a photo caption: delegates welcome Sukarno at the opening night in Jakarta of the recent Gerwani National C
Recognise the Indonesian just claim: Unite to build friendship!
Tribune (Sydney), 10 Jan 1962, p. 1 front-page editorial backing Sukarno's proclamation of West Irian as an Indonesian province and attacking the Menzies government and ALP leader Calwell. Gerwani appears only in a photo caption: delegates welcome Sukarno at the opening night in Jakarta of the recent Gerwani National C
US Embassy Weekly Situation Telegrams, April 1962
Two US Embassy Djakarta weekly situation telegrams (JOINT WEEKA 14 and 15), 6 and 13 April 1962, on the West New Guinea dispute, PKI-Sukarno friction, Partindo, wage demands and military matters. Gerwani appears only once: it joined SOBSI and others in protesting the 'undemocratic' draft election bill providing for pop
Communists of Indonesia beloved by the people
Tribune (Sydney), 23 May 1962, p. 9: Laurie Aarons, Communist Party of Australia fraternal delegate, praises the Seventh Congress of the PKI as a mass party (383 delegates, 'two million' members) led by D.N. Aidit, with Sukarno speaking at the closing rally. Lists the mass organisations it leads: BTI, SOBSI and Gerwani
Communists of Indonesia beloved by the people
Tribune (Sydney), 23 May 1962, p. 9: Laurie Aarons, Communist Party of Australia fraternal delegate, praises the Seventh Congress of the PKI as a mass party (383 delegates, 'two million' members) led by D.N. Aidit, with Sukarno speaking at the closing rally. Lists the mass organisations it leads: BTI, SOBSI and Gerwani
US State Department INR Report no. 4489, January 1963: World strength of the communist party organizations
US State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research report no. 4489 (January 1963), an annual tabulation of Communist party strength worldwide for 1962, with country-by-country entries on membership, parliamentary status and front organisations. The Indonesia entry (about p. 98) gives the PKI more than 2,000,000 me
SOBSI protest to Singapore government over mass arrests (Straits Times, 1963)
The Straits Times, 6 February 1963, p. 10, Reuters: SOBSI cables the Singapore government protesting the mass arrests of left-wing people the previous weekend and demanding release of detainees; Partindo and the Gerwani Women's Movement 'have also protested'. Brief mention of Gerwani among Indonesian left organisations
Java Reds in protest march, Purwokerto (Straits Times, 1963)
The Straits Times, 25 March 1963, p. 2, UPI/Antara: 1,500 communists demonstrate in Purwokerto, Central Java, against high prices and the cost of living; participants came from the PKI and affiliates including Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani, BTI and Lekra. They petition for lower prices and the inclusion of communists in the C
Women confer
Tribune (Sydney), 14 Aug 1963, p. 2: announces the Third National Conference of the Union of Australian Women in Sydney, 13-17 September 1963, and says invitations went to the WIDF, the Soviet Women's Committee and Gerwani of Indonesia to be represented.
Women confer
Tribune (Sydney), 14 Aug 1963, p. 2: announces the Third National Conference of the Union of Australian Women in Sydney, 13-17 September 1963, and says invitations went to the WIDF, the Soviet Women's Committee and Gerwani of Indonesia to be represented.
Sign for better nylons!
Tribune (Sydney), 28 Aug 1963, p. 9: preparations for the UAW's third national conference (nylon stockings, drug costs, equal pay petitions, anti-nuclear letters). The public opening rally on 13 Sept will welcome visitors from the WIDF, the Soviet Women's Committee (Nina Bogomolova) and Gerwani, described as an Indones