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
Results of the Gerwis congress: name changed to Gerwani
De Vrije Pers report (3 Apr 1954) on the press conference after the second Gerwis congress (Jakarta, 25-31 March 1954). Gerwis changed its name to Gerwani, dropping "Sedar" after criticism; it opposed the demonstration ban and arrests of labour organisers, urged a marriage law against forced marriage, would field no ow
Results of the Gerwis congress: name changed to Gerwani (page version)
De Vrije Pers report (3 Apr 1954) on the press conference after the second Gerwis congress (Jakarta, 25-31 March 1954). Gerwis changed its name to Gerwani, dropping "Sedar" after criticism; it opposed the demonstration ban and arrests of labour organisers, urged a marriage law against forced marriage, would field no ow
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
Communique of cooperating Indonesian parties: expulsion of Dutch High Commissioner demanded
De Waarheid, 2 Jul 1954, p. 1: Jakarta dispatch that a committee of 31 cooperating Indonesian parties and organisations, including PNI, PKI, NU, SOBSI and Gerwani, asked the government to declare the Dutch High Commissioner Count van Bylandt persona non grata over his 25 June speech, recall the Hague negotiators if it
Agrarian affairs again: PKI central committee plenum chaired by Aidit
De Vrije Pers report (19 Nov 1954), citing Pedoman, on the PKI central committee plenum (8-10 Nov) chaired by Aidit and attended by Pemuda Rakyat, SOBSI, Gerwani and Perbepsi representatives. It decided to seek a place in the Ali cabinet, delegating MPs Sakirman and Mrs. Mudigdo, and not to make the agrarian portfolio
Gerwani congress (newspaper page, early December 1954)
Whole newspaper page, Indische Courant voor Nederland, c. 1-4 Dec 1954 (columns interleaved). Gerwani-relevant item: Bandung branch congress backs Maisuri, opposes forced marriage and 'immoral' films, supports the Ali cabinet. Other articles: PRN women's congress, no-confidence motion, West Irian at the UN, Bogor confe
Djakarta postpones the evil day (The Observer, 16 January 1955)
The Observer, 16 Jan 1955, p.7, Rawle Knox, 'Djakarta Postpones the Evil Day': impressionistic report from Jakarta on a lively, disorderly capital, the Ali Sastroamidjojo government's dependence on Communist support, Sukarno's drift from impartiality, the delayed first election and anti-Dutch boycotts. A passing quote
Lecture by Mrs Suharti (DPP Gerwani) on the general election (Harian Rakjat, 31 January 1955)
Harian Rakjat, 31 Jan 1955, p. 2: local-news page. A short item reports a lecture by Ny. Suharti of DPP Gerwani on the coming general elections, among a series of PKI-linked election lectures and rallies in Jakarta; Gerwani lectures are also announced for 17-22 February. Most of the page is unrelated Indonesian and for
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
Pravda, 4 Jul 1955: World Congress of Mothers; the situation in Indonesia
Pravda, 4 July 1955 (selected pages 1, 3, 4). Page 3: WIDF deputy secretary Z. Ivanova on preparations for the World Congress of Mothers (Lausanne, 7-10 July); says WIDF established cooperation in Indonesia with 'the numerous women's organization Gerwani' and the plantation workers' union, and that Indonesia's committe
Pravda, 5 Aug 1955: government crisis in Indonesia; telegrams from Gerwani
Pravda, 5 August 1955, No. 217, page 6, supplied as a Claude machine translation of the Indonesia item. A TASS dispatch from Jakarta on the cabinet crisis (Harahap of Masjumi asked to form a government) says Harian Rakjat printed dozens of telegrams from SOBSI, BTI, the women's organisation Gerwani and Pemuda Rakjat in
Pravda, 5 Aug 1955: Gerwani telegram in Indonesian cabinet crisis (excerpt)
Keyword-hit excerpt of Pravda, 5 Aug 1955 (TASS, Jakarta) on the cabinet crisis after Masjumi's Burhanuddin Harahap was asked to form a government. Harian Rakjat published telegrams from SOBSI, BTI, Gerwani, Pemuda Rakjat and others demanding a truly democratic government, opposing a Masjumi cabinet and 'a military dic
Against the composition of the new cabinet: Semarang meeting rejects Burhanuddin cabinet
De Locomotief, 12 Aug 1955: a Semarang provincial meeting of mass and women's organisations rejects the new Burhanuddin cabinet and demands an all-party cabinet and elections on schedule. A five-person delegation to Jakarta represents workers (SOBSI), youth, women (Gerwani), peasants and ex-fighters. Shows Gerwani as t
Ten years of the Republic (Cor Geugjes)
De Waarheid, 17 Aug 1955, p. 3: Cor Geugjes's article for the Republic's tenth anniversary, covering Dutch colonial violence, the Bandung Conference, the Ali Sastroamidjojo government's fall and replacement by a Masjumi-PSI cabinet under Harahap, and the PKI's election platform. It lists Gerwani only as 'the strong wom
S. Hadikusumo: Indonesia is ready for the elections
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (5 Sep 1955, p.1): S. Hadikusumo, head of the central election committee, says all regions except unrest areas (Aceh, South Sulawesi) are ready for the 29 September 1955 parliamentary elections. Gerwani urged its members to help ensure elections are held on time because they will express wom
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
Gerwani on marriage: full page with four-point marriage programme
Whole scrambled page of De Locomotief, 30 Nov 1955, with the fullest text of Gerwani's four-point marriage programme for the Constituante: no coercion, abolition of child, forced and purchase marriages and mistresses, polygamy forbidden in principle, divorce open to both sexes before a court and support for divorced wo
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
Widening Actions for Women's, Children's and Peace Demands (Umi Sardjono, 1956)
Brochure of Umi Sardjono's general report to the Third DPP Plenum of Gerwani, 16–19 June 1956. Reviews election work, marriage-law cases, peasant women's wage struggles, kindergartens, peace and WIDF work, membership and cadre education, in the setting of Bandung and the 1955 elections.
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.
Constituent Assembly Member Profile: Mrs Amir Sjarifuddin (Djaenah)
Konstituante.Net member profile (transcribed) of Ny. Amir Sjarifuddin (Jaenah), PKI member no. 60 of the Constituent Assembly. Born 11 December 1911 in Pontianak, with MULO education; teacher at HIS and Perguruan Rakyat 1930-35, active in Indonesia Muda and Perkumpulan Isteri Indonesia. From 1950 she sat on the leaders
Gerwani statement on abrogating the KMB; women at the SOBSI national council (Bintang Timur, 23 February 1956)
Front page (with pp. 2-4) of Bintang Timur, Jakarta, 23 Feb 1956. The DPP Gerwani issues a statement, after a meeting with Central Java, West Java and Jakarta delegates, demanding full unilateral abrogation of the KMB agreements. Women delegates Setiati Surasto (Sarbupri), Sri Ambar, Tuti, Rantiyem and Emmy Purwati att
Gerwani endorses prosecutor's demand against Jungschlager (Bintang Timur, 28 February 1956)
Front page (with pp. 2-4) of Bintang Timur, Jakarta, 28 Feb 1956, dominated by the KMB abrogation debate and the Masyumi/PNI-NU stand-off. A short item reports Gerwani welcoming and endorsing the prosecutor's demand against the Dutch defendant Jungschlager, calling it commensurate with his crimes. Other items cover the
Umi Sardjono at the WIDF 10th anniversary: women's rights in the Konstituante (Bintang Timur, 9 March 1956)
Front page (with pp. 2-4) of Bintang Timur, Jakarta, 9 Mar 1956. One column reports the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Women's International Democratic Federation (GWDS/WIDF) at the SBKA hall, Manggarai: Gerwani chair Umi Sardjono urges women's organisations to get women's rights written into the Konstituante, cit
Jakarta protests against Dulles visit; Gerwani statement (Renmin Ribao, 13 March 1956)
Two Xinhua dispatches from Jakarta in Renmin Ribao, 13 Mar 1956 (p. 4). First: US Secretary of State Dulles was met at the airport on 12 March by demonstrators shouting against SEATO, and a girl was arrested for sticking a slogan on his car. Second: Gerwani issued a statement on 11 March condemning the visit as an atte
Jakarta protests against Dulles visit; Gerwani statement (Renmin Ribao, 13 March 1956)
Two Xinhua dispatches from Jakarta in Renmin Ribao, 13 Mar 1956 (p. 4). First: US Secretary of State Dulles was met at the airport on 12 March by demonstrators shouting against SEATO, and a girl was arrested for sticking a slogan on his car. Second: Gerwani issued a statement on 11 March condemning the visit as an atte