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
Other speakers at the PKI meeting: Umi Sardjono explains choosing PKI
De Nieuwsgier report (31 May 1955, p. 2) on a PKI anniversary/election rally in Jakarta where Aidit spoke. Mrs. Oemi Sartono (Umi Sardjono), described as a non-party Gerwani member, said she chose the PKI because it is a choice of being for or against the people; non-party candidate Astrawinata also spoke.
PKI is 35 years old
Java-Bode, 31 May 1955, p. 2: report on the PKI's 35th anniversary rally on Merdeka Square. D.N. Aidit urged the Dutch to leave and stressed Muslim-Nationalist-Communist unity; Umi Sardjono, Gerwani general chair, spoke sharply against surviving feudalism and large landownership; judge Astrawinata explained his PKI can
The Ali cabinet: PKI mass meeting with Umi Sardjono
De Locomotief, 1 June 1955: report of a PKI mass meeting in Jakarta where Aidit backs the Ali cabinet and urges peaceful election campaigning. Mrs Umi Sardjono, introduced as a non-party Gerwani member and PKI candidate, says she chose the PKI because it is a choice of being for or against the people. Date: the party's
The PKI is 35 years old
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 8 Jun 1955, p. 2: report on the PKI's 35th-anniversary rally at Merdeka Square, Jakarta. Umi Sardjono, general chairwoman of Gerwani, attacks feudalism and large landownership; Aidit speaks on Muslim-nationalist-communist unity and Dutch profits, with slogans against Dutch and landlords
Grand PKI election campaign: Aidit speaks to 700,000 in Yogyakarta
De Waarheid, 21 Sep 1955, p. 5: air-mail report on the PKI's 1955 election campaign: Aidit speaking to 700,000 in Yogyakarta, 550,000 in Semarang, Njoto and Lukman elsewhere. In Jakarta, Umi Sardjono, chair of Gerwani, explained why she stands as a non-party candidate on the PKI list, saying its programme matches the d
Harian Rakjat, 9 March 1957: Umi Sardjono at the Women's Day exhibition
Harian Rakjat issue of 9 March 1957, very noisy OCR. Page 1 reports the International Women's Day exhibition (handicrafts, cooking, costumes, foreign stalls) in Jakarta, where Umi Sardjono (Gerwani leader) is among women leaders present alongside Fatmawati; the committee of ten women's organisations is chaired by Yahya
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
Almanac of State Institutions and Parties (1961)
Government reference almanac issued by the Department of Information (Departemen Penerangan), June 1961, on the institutions of Guided Democracy: MPRS, DPR-GR, DPAS, Depernas, Bapekan, Front Nasional and recognised parties, with decrees, membership lists and party statutes. Gerwani appears only once, as the women's del
Umi Sardjono, 'Change the face of our homeland step by step' (speech to the MPRS, Harian Rakjat, 19 December 1960; JPRS
JPRS translation (1961) of Umi Sardjono's speech to the MPRS plenary, Harian Rakjat 19 Dec 1960, 'Change the Face of Our Homeland Step by Step', backing the eight-year development plan: self-sufficiency in food and clothing, heavy industry, distribution controls, cooperatives, and price policy; she addresses women's su
The Communist Party of Indonesia 1951-1961: A Decade of the Aidit Leadership (Hindley, 1961)
Donald Hindley's 1961 ANU PhD thesis on the Indonesian Communist Party under the Aidit leadership, 1951-1961, covering PKI strategy, party-building, finances, mass organisations and elections. Section 'Women' (pp. 422-448, esp. 'Gerwani', pp. 428-441) traces Gerwis from its founding on 4 June 1950 (about 500 members) t
US Embassy Reports on Women's Organizations and Friendship-Society Regulation, Oct 1961
US Embassy Djakarta despatches, Oct 1961: transmittal of the July 1961 war-administrator regulation on international friendship societies, and the report 'Role of Women in Indonesia: Women's Organizations' with a memorandum of conversation with Maria Ulfah Santoso (8 March 1961) and biographic notes. It describes Gerwa
Total Unity on the Nasakom Axis: Sukarno's Speech to Gerwani's Fourth Congress, 14 December 1961
Ministry of Information pamphlet of Sukarno's 14 Dec 1961 speech to Gerwani's Fourth Congress. He attacks the aristocratic 'ladies' movement' and demands a revolutionary, radical women's mass movement in line with Nasakom.
With Manipol Strengthen the United Women's Front (Gerwani DPP Plenary, January 1963)
Api Kartini (1963) report by Ratna on the Gerwani DPP Plenary held in Jakarta, 6-10 January 1963, a year after the 4th Congress. Umi Sardjono's general report praised the Irian Barat victory and the end of the state of emergency (1 May 1963), and the plenary resolved to strengthen the Nasakom-based national front, supp
JPRS Consolidated Translation Survey (1963): list of Harian Rakjat translations including Umi Sardjono's speech at the M
Short extract of a JPRS Consolidated Translation Survey (1963) listing translations of Harian Rakjat items, including JPRS 20546 on the 13th anniversary of the Indonesian women's movement (S. Djin; 'Thirteen Years of the Communist Womens Movement') and JPRS 20719, Umi Sardjono's speech as head of the Indonesian delegat
Tavip Inspires 17 August '64
Api Kartini (Aug-Sept 1964) report on women's participation in 17 August 1964 celebrations inspired by Sukarno's 'Tavip' speech (Year of Living Dangerously). Describes the Gerwani DPP rally on 15 August, where over 700 Gerwani Dwikora volunteers from the Jakarta training centre (Tiswati Jaya) swore oath, then the Merde
Indonesia launches 'smash Malaysia' movement: Umi Sardjono for women (snippet)
Snippet-only Renmin Ribao extract (19 Mar 1964, p. 3) on Indonesia's campaign to 'smash Malaysia'. It quotes Umi Sardjono, speaking for women and as a Gerwani leader, saying Indonesian women fully support Sukarno's order to launch a volunteers' movement; truncated. Full text is GA-01930.
Indonesia launches 'smash Malaysia' movement: Sukarno, Aidit and women's support
Xinhua dispatches in Renmin Ribao (19 Mar 1964, p. 3) on Indonesia's 'smash Malaysia' campaign: Sukarno orders the armed forces to contribute, Aidit swears in Pemuda Rakyat volunteers, and DPR-GR members back the President. Umi Sardjono, representing women and a Gerwani leader, pledges that Indonesian women will carry
FO 371/180326: Political Parties and Communism (Feb-Aug 1965)
UK Foreign Office file FO 371/180326 (Feb-Aug 1965): embassy telegrams, letters and Antara extracts on the PKI's growth before the coup: its 45th anniversary, Aidit's speeches, Mao's greeting, Sino-Soviet positions and Sukarno's leftward drift. Gerwani items: Antara of 9 June reports Sukarno addressing Gerwani, chaired
FBIS-monitored VNA Domestic Service text (6 Apr 1965) on tens of thousands of Korean, Indonesian, Venezuelan, Indian and Japanese volunteers for South Vietnam. Key Indonesian item: on 4 April about 100 women volunteers led by Mrs Umi Sardjono, president of the Indonesian Women's Movement (Gerwani), went to the DRV Emba
Umi Sardjono Leads Women Volunteers to DRV Embassy (FBIS, 8 Apr 1965)
FBIS Daily Report page (8 Apr 1965; HathiTrust scan p.251, North Vietnam section): continuation of the VNA volunteer report. Contains the passage that about 100 women volunteers led by Mrs Umi Sardjono, president of the Indonesian Women's Movement, went to the DRV Embassy and NFLSV office on 4 April, including wives of
Scinteia, 18 Jul 1965: PKI delegation arrives for 4th Congress of the Romanian Workers' Party
Scinteia (Bucharest), 18 Jul 1965, p. 1: report on arrival of the PKI delegation for the 4th Congress of the Romanian Workers' Party. Delegation: D.N. Aidit (head), Karel Supit, Umi Sardjono (PKI CC alternate member, Gerwani chair) and Anwar Dharma of Harian Rakjat; met by Ceausescu. Setiati Surasto, named in the metad
Airgram A-398: List of PKI Leaders and Their Whereabouts, 17 Dec 1965
US Embassy airgram A-398, 17 Dec 1965, listing PKI leadership bodies after May 1965 and fugitive leaders' whereabouts. Places Suharti (Gerwani chair, head of the PKI women's department), Umi Sardjono, Setiati Surasto and Mudjiatun in PKI organs; no women in the whereabouts list.
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
Women in the first election (Historia, 2019)
Historia article (2019) on women's wings of parties in the 1955 election (Perwamu, Parkiwa, Wanita Demokrat, Aisyiyah, Bhayangkari), noting the PKI grew close to Gerwani and that Mudigdio and Umi Sardjono entered the DPR for the PKI. Context on Gerwani and elections.
Ummah Yet Proletariat: Islam and Marxism in the Netherlands East Indies and Indonesia, 1915-1959 (Lin, 2020)
PhD dissertation (History, University of Washington, 2020) by Hongxuan Lin tracing the confluence of Islam and Marxism in the Netherlands East Indies and Indonesia, 1915-1959, through vernacular print culture; it genealogises Sukarno's NASAKOM. Gerwani appears only briefly: citing Blackburn, it says millions joined for
Tempo.co, 29 September 2021: Organisations considered affiliated with the PKI
Tempo.co explainer (29 Sept 2021) on organisations 'considered affiliated' with the PKI: Gerwani, Lekra, SOBSI, Pemuda Rakjat. It states, citing Wieringa, that Gerwis became Gerwani at its 1954 second congress, electing PKI member Umi Sardjono as chair. Short, background-level.