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
ACDWF telegrams for 8 March to women's groups incl. Gerwani (Renmin Ribao, 8 March 1956)
Xinhua note in Renmin Ribao, 8 Mar 1956 (p. 4): the All-China Democratic Women's Federation sent International Women's Day telegrams to women's bodies in India, Burma, Pakistan, Egypt and Japan and, in Indonesia, to Gerwani, to Kowani (the Indonesian Women's Congress) and to the Indonesian Women's 8 March Commemoration
ACDWF telegrams for 8 March to women's groups incl. Gerwani (Renmin Ribao, 8 March 1956)
Xinhua note in Renmin Ribao, 8 Mar 1956 (p. 4): the All-China Democratic Women's Federation sent International Women's Day telegrams to women's bodies in India, Burma, Pakistan, Egypt and Japan and, in Indonesia, to Gerwani, to Kowani (the Indonesian Women's Congress) and to the Indonesian Women's 8 March Commemoration
Women's delegates speak at WIDF Council; Suharti, Gerwani vice-chairman (Renmin Ribao, 26 April 1956)
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao, 26 Apr 1956 (p. 1), on day two of the WIDF Council meeting in Beijing, with speeches from Indian, German, Malagasy, Argentine, Soviet, Tunisian and British delegates. Suharti, WIDF Council member and vice-chairman of Gerwani, says Indonesian women's organisations are growing, oppose US ef
Women's delegates speak at WIDF Council; Suharti, Gerwani vice-chairman (Renmin Ribao, 26 April 1956)
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao, 26 Apr 1956 (p. 1), on day two of the WIDF Council meeting in Beijing, with speeches from Indian, German, Malagasy, Argentine, Soviet, Tunisian and British delegates. Suharti, WIDF Council member and vice-chairman of Gerwani, says Indonesian women's organisations are growing, oppose US ef
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
1957 'Letter to an Unknown Friend' by Sudjinah (Gerwani) on Indonesian children's conditions, framed by colonial history, Japanese occupation and the Round Table agreement. Gives statistics (15-20% infant mortality, one doctor per 59,000, illiteracy 65%, 5 of 12 million children in school) and notes Gerwani, with the I
IVth Congress of the Women's International Democratic Federation, Vienna, June 1958
WIDF volume on the IVth Congress, Vienna, 1-5 June 1958: speeches, reports and resolutions. Gerwani appears directly: Mudigdio, vice-president of Gerwani and head of the Indonesian delegation, speaks (pp. 89-92) for 663,740 members, citing equal-pay claims, the Third Gerwani Congress (December 1957), West Irian, work w
Meeting of the WIDF Bureau (Jakarta, 1960)
Api Kartini report on the WIDF Bureau meeting in Jakarta, 31 January-3 February 1960, at Hotel Duta Indonesia, the first WIDF meeting held in Indonesia. Quotes Prime Minister Juanda's welcome and speeches by Anasuya Gyankhand, Marie Pritt, Thiele, Maria Rossi and Marguerite de Ponce; delegates met Kowani and Gerwani ac
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
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
Biographic Data on Members of the Gotong Royong Parliament (US Embassy despatch, July 1960)
US State Department Central Files despatch from Embassy Djakarta (July 1960, chargé Rolland Buchner): biographic data, with alphabetical index, on about 110 former members of parliament appointed to the Gotong Royong parliament, grouped by party. Biographies of women MPs include Gerwani figures. Mrs Mudigdio (Gerwis/Ge
A History of Struggle Remembered: Exhibition for Gerwani's 10th Anniversary, 1961
Api Kartini (mid-1961) report on the exhibition at Gerwani's 10th anniversary (from 5 June 1961), with an interview of chair Umi Sardjono on Gerwani's history. Founded 4 June 1951 (first congress Surabaya, 17-22 Dec 1951), 185 branches, membership from 6,000 to 710,000, 326 kindergartens, 23,000 election workers; six m
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 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
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
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
All-China Women's Federation cables Indonesian women's organisations (headline only)
Snippet-only entry (Renmin Ribao, 19 Jan 1964, p. 5) with headline only: the All-China Women's Federation cables Indonesian women's organisations supporting the Indonesian people's anti-US struggle. Details are in the full text, GA-01926.
All-China Women's Federation cables Gerwani and Kowani against Seventh Fleet
Xinhua note in Renmin Ribao (19 Jan 1964, p. 5): on 17 January the All-China Women's Federation cabled Gerwani and Kowani, backing Indonesian women's struggle against US Seventh Fleet deployment in the Indian Ocean, said to obstruct Indonesia's confrontation with 'Malaysia'. It expresses confidence in the 'bull-like sp
Soviet Woman, 31 May 1964: 'A New Realm', end of Soviet delegation's Indonesia visit report
Soviet Woman, 31 May 1964, p. (fragment): closing section of a Soviet Women's Committee delegation account of Indonesia (Mother's Day, Dec 1963), followed by an unrelated agricultural chemistry article. Delegates met Hurustiati Subandrio, Madame Supeni and 'Madame Umi Sarjono, Member of Parliament and President of Gerw
Soviet Woman, 31 May 1964: 'Our Visit to Indonesia' (Ludmila Balakhovskaya)
Soviet Woman, 31 May 1964: Ludmila Balakhovskaya's 'Our visit to Indonesia', on a two-week Soviet Women's Committee tour for Mother's Day (22 Dec) at Hurustiati Subandrio's invitation (Kowani). Notes 30 women among 300 MPs, creches and women's clubs, and that Gerwani runs 1,400 kindergartens (50+ children each), planni
Short Xinhua item (24 Sep 1964, via FBIS): Mme Sukahar, head of the Indonesian Women's Congress (Kowani), with delegation members Suharti Suwarto (OCR 'Suwanto'), Mariam Kanta (Sumpeno?) and Ali Dahlan Nasution, arrived in Peking after visiting Korea; welcomed by Hsu Kuang-ping of the National Women's Federation. Names
Four-member Indonesian women's delegation arrives in Beijing from Korea (snippet)
Snippet-only Renmin Ribao item (25 Sept 1964, p. 3): a four-member Indonesian women's delegation headed by a Kowani chair (Mrs Sukahar), including Suharti Suwarto, arrives in Beijing from Korea. Truncated; full text is GA-01942.
Four-member Indonesian women's delegation arrives in Beijing from Korea
Xinhua note in Renmin Ribao (25 Sept 1964, p. 3): a four-member Indonesian women's delegation led by Mrs Sukahar, a Kowani chair, with Suharti Suwarto and two others, arrives in Beijing from Korea, met by Xu Guangping of the All-China Women's Federation. Gerwani is not named; Suharti Suwarto is the Gerwani first vice-c
FBIS-monitored Xinhua report (30 Sep 1964): Mao Zedong and other leaders received over 70 foreign guests on the eve of National Day. Among the Indonesians: Naibaho (Harian Rakjat editor), Siauw Giok Tjhan, and Mme Suharti, PKI Central Committee member and first vice chairman of the Indonesian Women's Movement (Gerwani)
Foreign guests from over eighty countries celebrate China's National Day
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao (1 Oct 1964, p. 6) on 2,600+ foreign guests at China's 15th National Day. Translation retains only Indonesian items: the PKI delegation under Yusuf Adjitorop, Harian Rakjat, SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakyat, Kowani delegations and Mrs Juswati as Gerwani's representative. Gerwani is a single name
Mao and other leaders receive National Day guests, including Suharti of Gerwani and PKI
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao (1 Oct 1964, p. 3) on Mao, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai and others receiving 15th National Day guests. Among those received: Suharti (Suwarto), PKI Central Committee member, head of its Women's Department and Gerwani First Vice-Chair, and Kowani chair Mrs Sukahar; also the PKI delegation and wom
Song Qingling, Zhou and Chen Yi receive women guests; All-China Women's Federation reception
Two Xinhua reports in Renmin Ribao (5 Oct 1964, p. 1): Song Qingling, Zhou Enlai and Chen Yi receive women guests for China's National Day, then the All-China Women's Federation holds a reception with speeches by Cai Chang and a toast by Deng Yingchao. The Indonesian delegation includes Suharti (PKI CC, head of its Wom