Biographical Sheets: Mrs Umi Sardjono and Others, 1956/57
Seven-page Ministry of Information file of short official biographies; only the first concerns Gerwani: parliamentary member no. 86 Umi Sardjono (b. Salatiga 1923, PKI list for East Java), with her career from Semarang telephone office to Kediri and Gerwani.
Women's Footsteps in 1961 (Hurustiati Subandrio)
Article by Hurustiati Subandrio (1961) reviewing women's activity at the start of 1961. She lists the Gerwani-organised National Seminar of Peasant Women (17-20 January, Gedung Wanita, Jakarta), the Asian-African Women's Conference in Cairo, and preparations for the Indonesian Women's Congress (6-8 February). She links
A Little about the Indonesian Women's Movement
Api Kartini (late 1964) history of the Indonesian women's movement for Youth Pledge Day, tracing Kartini, Isteri Sedar, Perwari, wartime Fujinkai and Gerwis's founding on 4 June 1950 from the Gerakan Wanita Sedar, its name change to Gerwani after merging with railway workers' wives and Perwin Menado, joining Kowani and
Suara Merdeka, 9 Oct 1965, p. 2: Gerwani Central Java congratulates ABRI on its anniversary
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 9 Oktober 1965, hlm. 2. Includes a boxed paid notice in which the DPD Gerwani Central Java congratulates ABRI on its 20th anniversary and hopes for closer ABRI–people cooperation, a rare formulaic trace of Gerwani's own voice just before its destruction.
Suara Merdeka, 20 October 1965, p. 1: Suharto order of the day and suspension of PKI organisations
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 20 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Front page with Suharto's first order of the day and the RRI report of the Pepelrada Jakarta decree suspending PKI, Pemuda Rakyat, Gerwani, BTI, CGMI, Lekra and others; one of the first formal measures against Gerwani.
Berita Yudha, 21 October 1965
Berita Yudha, 21 Oktober 1965. Army information chief alleges 'Gerwani Semarang' ran a public kitchen for 3,000 at the time of the 'coup'; further reports on the fate of Gerwani and the women's federation.
Suara Merdeka, 21 October 1965, p. 1: Anti-PKI mass action in Semarang
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 21 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Front page on the anti-PKI mass action sweeping Semarang on 20 Oct 1965 after RPKAD's arrival under Sarwo Edhie: burning of PKI, SOBSI, CGMI and Baperki buildings; Gerwani appears among targets.
Suara Merdeka, 22 October 1965, pp. 2-3: Semarang mass action, Majalengka dissolution, student demands
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 22 Oktober 1965, hlm. 2–3. Editorials on Col. Katamso and the Semarang mass action, self-dissolution in Majalengka co-signed by a Gerwani representative, and UI students demanding dissolution of PKI, Gerwani and others.
Suara Merdeka, 23 October 1965, pp. 2-3: PNI women ask Kowani to take a stand on G30S
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 23 Oktober 1965, hlm. 2–3. Three Gerwani items: PNI women ask Kowani (Hurustiati Subandrio) to take a position on G30S, opening the move toward Gerwani's exclusion; a businesswoman declares she is not Gerwani; a rally of 67 East Java organisations.
Suara Merdeka, 27 October 1965, p. 1: Yogyakarta demands dissolution of PKI and Gerwani; Umi Sardjono
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 27 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Richest page for Gerwani in this set: state of war in Central Java; 55 Yogyakarta organisations demand dissolution of the PKI and Gerwani; a demand to dismiss Umi Sardjono from the Kotrar political bureau.
Suara Merdeka, 27 October 1965, p. 2: Gerwani Semarang chair Soetjiran says her house was attacked
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 27 Oktober 1965, hlm. 2. Two key items: at a Kodim 0733 Semarang meeting a freezing decree was read; Soetjiran, chair of Gerwani Semarang, said her house was attacked, members panicked and Gerwani Semarang 'knew nothing' of the events.
Berita Yudha, 8 November 1965. Central Java war administration's Maj. Suroto lists 'indications' preceding G30S, starting with 'the demand of Gerwani Semarang for a reduction of the rice price' and unauthorised training in Klaten.
Armed Forces Information Centre, Intisari Berita, 18 November 1965: arrests in Central Java and 'self-dissolution' of...
Armed Forces Information Centre bulletin, 18 November 1965. Round-up from Central Java reports 1,636 arrests 'including 16 Gerwani members' and 'self-dissolution' of the PKI and mass organisations in several towns; a second Gerwani item names a woman.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 17 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 17 Jan 1966. Semarang report on the death of Karyono Purbominoto (alleged Pati 'Dewan Revolusi' designer) noting his wife Marsih, village head and 'pentolan Gerwani', remains at large; KAMI protests.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 31 January 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 31 Jan 1966. The 'Pos Piket' column jokes about 'kuntilanak GERWANI'; also a 'confession' by Partindo official Waridjan and railway police seizure of 'a suitcase of human hair'.
Angkatan Bersendjata, 11 March 1966
Angkatan Bersendjata, 11 Mar 1966 (Supersemar day). Regional column reports Pasaman husbands divorcing wives who are Gerwani, and release of 37 ex-detainees in Pati including six ex-Gerwani; PGRI petition to dissolve the PKI.
Berita Yudha, 18 May 1966
Berita Yudha, 18 Mei 1966. Antara: 'Tiga tokoh PKI diringkus di rumah seorang Gerwani', arrest of SOBSI Semarang secretary Pita Hardjosoemarto in the house of a woman Toemini, alleged local Gerwani member.
Angkatan Bersendjata Minggu, August 1968 (Sunday Edition)
Angkatan Bersendjata Minggu, Agustus 1968 (edisi Minggu). Sunday edition, Independence Day issue: mostly entertainment; the single Gerwani item is a boxed city-column feature on a young jamu seller from Semarang, joking about Gerwani.
Duta Masjarakat, 7 December 1968
Duta Masjarakat, 7 Desember 1968. Antara brief from Semarang: an ABRI team raided a meeting of six PKI members, 'two of them Gerwani leaders', in Bringin, Salatiga; two captured wounded.
From politics to mysticism: S.K. Trimurti in her own words (Tempo, 21 Apr 1990)
Tempo profile (21 April 1990), in S.K. Trimurti's own first-person voice, of her life from teacher and Partindo cadre to labour minister and spiritualist. She says she co-founded Gerwis around 1950 (Ketua III, Yogyakarta), that Gerwis became Gerwani at its third congress under Umi Sardjono, and that in 1965 she quit Ge
Communism in Indonesia, Vol. IV: The G30S/PKI Rebellion and its Suppression (1960-1965), Pusjarah TNI, 2009
Official Army history (Pusjarah TNI, Jakarta 2009), vol. IV of 'Komunisme di Indonesia', presenting Gerwani as a PKI mass organisation in the 1960-65 build-up and the G30S. It reports Gerwani's Nov-Dec 1964 housewives' seminar (p. 70), 'unilateral actions' (p. 122), the 27 Sept 1965 Surabaya governor's-office raid unde
Communism in Indonesia, Vol. IV: The G30S/PKI Rebellion and its Suppression (1960-1965), Pusjarah TNI, 2009
Official Army history (Pusjarah TNI, Jakarta 2009), vol. IV of 'Komunisme di Indonesia', presenting Gerwani as a PKI mass organisation in the 1960-65 build-up and the G30S. It reports Gerwani's Nov-Dec 1964 housewives' seminar (p. 70), 'unilateral actions' (p. 122), the 27 Sept 1965 Surabaya governor's-office raid unde
Tempo, 1 October 2012: Gulag on the bank of the Lampir river (Plantungan camp)
Tempo report (1 Oct 2012) on the Plantungan camp (Kendal) for women Group B political prisoners, opened 1971 in a former leprosarium. Names Gerwani activists and others held there: Sumiyarsi Siwirini ('Lubang Buaya doctor'), Siti Suratih, Mia Bustam, Pujiati, C.H. Sumarmiyati, Mujiati. Covers conditions, 'santi aji' in
Gerwani and women's political struggle (Rio Apinino, IndoPROGRESS, 2013)
Rio Apinino's 2013 IndoPROGRESS review essay of the Indonesian edition of Wieringa's Gerwani study: the film's Lubang Buaya scenes, Gerwis's founding in Semarang on 4 June 1950, PKI influence and the persistent 'whore' stigma. Chapter-by-chapter summary.
History of Gerwis and the emergence of Gerwani (detikNews, 2013)
detikNews feature (2013) on Gerwis's founding on 4 June 1950 by six organisations (Rupindo, Persatuan Wanita Sedar, Istri Sedar, Gerwindo, Wanita Madura, PPRI) and founders Trimurti, Salawati Daud, Umi Sardjono, Tris Metty and Sri Panggihan, with I.G.A.A. Ratih. Concise account of origins.
Batam Pos, 2 February 2015: 'World Dictionary: Gerwani'
Batam Pos, 2 Feb 2015, p. 2: reference box 'Gerwani' (from Kamus Sejarah Lengkap) defining Gerwani as a PKI-affiliated women's organisation, recounting Gerwis's founding at Semarang on 4 June 1950 from six groups, with an archival photo of a marriage-law rally.
Surviving in Impunity: Stories of Women Survivors Still Denied Justice (AJAR/Komnas Perempuan, 2015)
Book by AJAR with Komnas Perempuan (Oct 2015) from participatory research with women survivors. In the 1965 context chapter (pp. 39-40) it describes false rumours about Gerwani and the sexual slander of the generals, with violence against Gerwani members. Survivor testimonies name Christina Sumarmiyati (arrested again
Surviving in Impunity: Stories of Women Survivors Still Denied Justice (AJAR/Komnas Perempuan, 2015)
Book by AJAR with Komnas Perempuan (Oct 2015) from participatory research with women survivors. In the 1965 context chapter (pp. 39-40) it describes false rumours about Gerwani and the sexual slander of the generals, with violence against Gerwani members. Survivor testimonies name Christina Sumarmiyati (arrested again
Bhinneka, October 2015: Half a Century of the 1965 Genocide (Indonesian edition, women ex-prisoners' testimonies)
Bhinneka, October 2015 (Surabaya; ed. Soe Tjen Marching), a 1965 anniversary issue. Women ex-prisoners testify: Hartiti, a Gerwani member, was asked whether she joined the 'naked dance' and castrated the generals; Maria Goretti Sumilah was beaten and burned to confess she was Gerwani; Theresia Kadmiyanti ran a TK Melat
Bhinneka, October 2015: Half a Century of the 1965 Genocide (Indonesian edition, women ex-prisoners' testimonies)
Bhinneka, October 2015 (Surabaya; ed. Soe Tjen Marching), a 1965 anniversary issue. Women ex-prisoners testify: Hartiti, a Gerwani member, was asked whether she joined the 'naked dance' and castrated the generals; Maria Goretti Sumilah was beaten and burned to confess she was Gerwani; Theresia Kadmiyanti ran a TK Melat