Harian Rakjat, 16 July 1952: Kartinah (Gerwis West Java) welcomes PKI committee at Labuan
Harian Rakjat, Jakarta, 16 July 1952 (full issue; p. 3 relevant). Kartinah of the Gerwis West Java regional board (KDB) is among those who welcome the founding of a PKI committee at Labuan, Banten. Elsewhere the issue notes PKI, SOBSI and Gerwis statements rejecting the Pacific Pact, and a correction about a Gerwis Ran
Meeting with Indonesian women: delegation returns from the Soviet Union
De Waarheid, 8 Sep 1954, p. 5: report on an Indonesian women's delegation passing through Amsterdam after five weeks in the USSR (three in Moscow). Members came from different organisations: Masjumi Islamic women (Samsudin), PM Ali Sastroamidjojo's sister, Partai Buruh, a ministry official, students, Wanita Taman Siswa
Position of members of parliament
Java-Bode, 24 November 1954, p. 2: report of the parliamentary second reading of the bill on the legal position of MPs. PKI member Mrs Mudigdo objected to the bill, holding that parliamentary immunity is part of the democratic system. Others (Soeparno, Kasman Singodimedjo, Abdulhajat) sought amendments and protection a
Java-Bode 30 Nov 1954, page: Gerwani congress (whole page)
Whole-page OCR of Java-Bode, 30 November 1954, p. 2. The only Gerwani item is the Bandung branch congress: sympathy for Maisuri (forced marriage victim), call to abolish forced marriage, ban modern dances and immoral films, and support for the Ali-Arifin cabinet. Other articles cover West Irian at the UN, the Chinese a
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
Signature campaign against atomic war begins in Indonesia
De Waarheid, 9 Mar 1955, p. 2: Jakarta report on the start of a signature campaign against atomic war, signed by ministers, professors and Masjumi's Wiwoho. Gerwani called on all women to join, aiming for 10,000 signatures in 12 weeks. A Peace Committee delegation was received by Sukarno; wives of the Jakarta mayor and
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
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, 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
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
Central Java news: Salatiga election campaign schedule
De Locomotief, 23 Sept 1955, Central Java news: Salatiga campaign schedule lists Gerwani among parties with election meetings at the Gris Theatre (23 Sept afternoon), alongside Masjumi, PIR and PNI. The rest covers people's housing built in Salatiga.
First Lady
Short Algemeen Indisch Dagblad item 'First Lady' (1955-12-31, p. 1): Perwari chair Mrs. Kartowijono says any socially acceptable woman can be First Lady and urges a marriage law quickly. Muslimat (Masyumi) and Gerwani are still deliberating on the question and could not yet comment, in the context of the Sukarno marria
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
Umi Sardjono joins the Development faction in the new DPR (Bintang Timur, 4 April 1956)
Front page (with pp. 2-4) of Bintang Timur, Jakarta, 4 Apr 1956. A short item on the new DPR's factions lists Umi Sardjono (Gerwani chair) among the members of the 'Pembangunan' (Development) faction, with Suprapto, Abulhayat, Runturambi, Supardi and Sujono. Headline news: government to seek full KMB abrogation and tak
The committee
Short Algemeen Indisch Dagblad item (1956-08-06, p. 2): composition of the Bandung 17 August committee, chaired by the mayor, with vice-chairs from Masyumi, PNI, PKI and NU. Treasurers are Mrs. Kamarga (Perwari), Mrs. S. Sriwenda (Parkiwa) and one more Gerwani member still to be named. Also a basketball tournament anno
'One-man factions' in parliament disappointed
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad political roundup (1957-03-02, p. 2) on Sukarno's 'conception' of gotong-royong cabinet: one-man MP factions complain of exclusion, Nasution meets Sukarno, PNI Surabaya rallies, Natsir attacks the plan. An 'Adhesion' item says declarations of support came from the youth council DPI, Gerwani Ban
Djuanda vows to carry out programme; parties and groups back the new cabinet (Renmin Ribao, 13 April 1957)
Renmin Ribao, 13 Apr 1957, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta): PM Djuanda's broadcast on the new extra-parliamentary cabinet and reactions of parties and organisations (PNI, NU, PKI/Aidit, Masjumi, PSII, Parkindo, Murba). Gerwani appears only in a list of mass organisations, with SOBSI, Perwari and others, that telegraphed support
Djuanda vows to carry out programme; parties and groups back the new cabinet (Renmin Ribao, 13 April 1957)
Renmin Ribao, 13 Apr 1957, p. 6 (Xinhua, Jakarta): PM Djuanda's broadcast on the new extra-parliamentary cabinet and reactions of parties and organisations (PNI, NU, PKI/Aidit, Masjumi, PSII, Parkindo, Murba). Gerwani appears only in a list of mass organisations, with SOBSI, Perwari and others, that telegraphed support
General debates on normalisation of the country's situation
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1957-09-28, p. 2): continuation of the parliamentary debate on normalisation after the national conference, with seven speakers. Mrs. Umi Sardjono (Pembangunan) calls the result a positive principle showing the government's authority, but doubts it can be realised while arbitrary arrests and b
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 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
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
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
FBIS, 4 June 1963: Indonesian women condemn Java riots (Gerwani letter)
FBIS-monitored Xinhua item (4 Jun 1963): the National Women's Federation of China received a letter from the Central Council of the Indonesian Women's Movement (Gerwani) condemning the May 1963 anti-Chinese 'racist counterrevolutionary' riots, blaming ex-Masjumi, PSI and other elements with foreign subversive agents ai
D.N. Aidit, 'Some problems of the Indonesian revolution and the PKI': Beijing report, 4 September 1963
Full Renmin Ribao text (5 Sept 1963, p. 3) of D.N. Aidit's 4 September Beijing rally report on the Indonesian revolution and PKI: semi-colonial, semi-feudal analysis, national united front, Nasakom, state power's 'two aspects', and party building. Gerwani appears only once, in a membership tally (1.5 million, alongside
Politics in Simalungun: A Study in Political Integration (Liddle, 1967)
PhD dissertation (Yale, 1967) by R. William Liddle, a political-science study of local parties and political integration in Simalungun regency and Pematangsiantar, North Sumatra, based on 1963-64 fieldwork. Gerwani appears in a few brief passages in ch. VI: listed among PKI mass organizations (p. 190), given no members