Balance sheet of Indonesian political parties
Nieuw Utrechtsch Dagblad, 17 January 1947, p. 2: list drawn up by the Republican paper De Patriot of Indonesian groups for and against the Linggadjati draft agreement. Perwari, PKI, Sobsi, BTI and the Partai Sosialis are listed for; Masjumi, PNI and Partai Wanita Rakjat against. Gerwani/Gerwis (founded later) does not
Revision of the KNIP
De Locomotief, 12 Sept 1949 (Aneta): PNI's Sartono says the KNIP and its Working Committee are being reorganised, and lists organisations seeking seats, including the Partai Wanita Rakyat, Perwari and the Partai Wanita Kristen Indonesia. Gerwis is not named; context on women's organisations' political representation in
CIA report, 6 April 1950: Persatuan Wanita Republik Indonesia, Jakarta
CIA report, 6 April 1950, listing the Jakarta council of Perwari and labelling the group 'extreme right'. Context on Gerwis/Gerwani's main rival and sometime partner, and on the instability of US intelligence categories.
Fifth Women's Congress opened in Jakarta (KOWANI)
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (28 Nov 1950, p.2): the KOWANI 5th women's congress opens in Jakarta with about 200 delegates; Mrs Pudjobuntoro says the struggle continues until Irian returns. Preliminary papers: Miss Soesilowati on elections and women in parliament, Mr Nani Suwondo on marriage, Miss Suwarti on labour and
Merdeka, 10 March 1951: 'Gelanggang Wanita' women's column
Merdeka, 10 Mar 1951, p. 3: women's column reporting that Jakarta's International Women's Day on 8 March 1951 was not commemorated by Indonesian groups for lack of Kowani consensus, while 1,500 Chinese women met with Ny. Aidit of Gerwis present.
International Women's Day in Surabaya: women's federation meeting
Short De Vrije Pers notice (7 Mar 1952) that International Women's Day would be marked in Surabaya by the Gabungan Organisasi Wanita Surabaya, which includes Gerwis, Perwari, Christian and other women's groups at the regent's pendopo, while Chinese women's organisations held separate events.
Abadi, 10 March 1952, p. 3: International Women's Day in Jakarta
Abadi, 10 Mar 1952, p. 3: Antara report on Jakarta's International Women's Day celebration by nine women's organisations with Gerwis as general secretariat (about 1,000 attended, incl. MPs Mudigdo and Susilowati); Perwari asks for a woman minister.
Dissolution meeting of the 8 March Committee at Gerwis building, Mrs Sutanti Aidit (Harian Rakjat, 19 April 1952)
Harian Rakjat, 19 April 1952. On p. 5 a short report says the 8 March (International Women's Day) Committee held its dissolution meeting at the Gerwis building, Gang Lontar, Jakarta, chaired by Ny. Sutanti Aidit of Gerwis; delegates of Gerwis, Pemuda Puteri Indonesia, Perwari, PWKI and other women's bodies adopted a re
Harian Rakjat, 23 April 1952: Kartini Day commemorations, Mrs Sri Kusnapsiah speaks
Page of the Jakarta daily Harian Rakjat, 23 April 1952 (Kartini Day issue; OCR very noisy). It reports Hari Kartini commemorations in Jakarta (about 650 women at Garden Hall), in The Hague, where Ny. S. Sri Kusnapsiah spoke on Kartini's aims and thought, and in Semarang, Bogor and elsewhere, alongside Wilopo-cabinet an
Marriage Stir in Indonesia (Sydney Morning Herald, 21 September 1954)
Sydney Morning Herald, 21 Sep 1954, p. 1 (AAP-Reuter): a deputation from 30 Indonesian women's organisations, headed by Mrs Katowijono of Perwani, protested to Sukarno over his marriage to a second wife, Mrs Suwondo, without the first wife's consent. Press debate; women leaders say it dealt the women's movement a bad b
Daily Worker, 13 May 1955: Perwari, Indonesia's largest women's organisation, joins Asian women leaders (assail polygamy
Page 8 of the Daily Worker (New York, 13 May 1955). A short Djakarta dispatch (12 May) reports that the central committee of Perwari, described as Indonesia's largest women's organisation, joined Pakistani women in criticising Prime Minister Mohammed Ali's second marriage, and recalls Perwari's protest the previous yea
USIS refuses Gerwani representative; Gerwani central board explains (Bintang Timur, 8 May 1956)
Bintang Timur (Jakarta daily), 8 May 1956, full issue. A front-page item reports that the Indonesian Women's Congress decided to send five organisation representatives, including one from Gerwani, to accompany the delegation to the UN Economic and Social Council in New York, but USIS refused the Gerwani delegate withou
ACWF banquet for Mrs Abdulgani and the Indonesian women's delegation (Renmin Ribao, 30 September 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 30 Sep 1956, p. 2 (Xinhua): the All-China Democratic Women's Federation hosts a banquet for an Indonesian women's delegation led by Mrs Abdulgani, including Perwari chair Mrs Sudaman and wives of parliamentary leaders. Deng Yingchao stresses shared anti-colonial experience. Gerwani is not named.
ACWF banquet for Mrs Abdulgani and the Indonesian women's delegation (Renmin Ribao, 30 September 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 30 Sep 1956, p. 2 (Xinhua): the All-China Democratic Women's Federation hosts a banquet for an Indonesian women's delegation led by Mrs Abdulgani, including Perwari chair Mrs Sudaman and wives of parliamentary leaders. Deng Yingchao stresses shared anti-colonial experience. Gerwani is not named.
Woman and the Changing Marriage Pattern of Indonesia (van der Kroef, 1957)
Journal article by Justus M. van der Kroef (American Catholic Sociological Review, June 1957) on women's status and marriage in Indonesia: adat versus Islamic law, polygamy, divorce rates, colonial and revolutionary change. Surveys women's organisations (Perwari, Kowani) and notes Kowani's early left turn and WIDF cont
FBIS, 28 October 1958: Indonesians laud CPR construction gains
FBIS-monitored Xinhua item (28 Oct 1958; header misdates 1953): Indonesian political figures returning from China praised China's construction, communes and the Great Leap Forward. Includes Mme Kartowijono, Perwari secretary-general, praising communes' labour enthusiasm, food, clothing and education; Anwar Tjokroaminot
Birth and Growth of the Indonesian Women's Movement, Part II (Sulami, 1959)
Part II of Sulami's 1959 history: Indonesian women under Japanese occupation (Fujinkai, women coerced as 'geishas'), the 1945 proclamation, founding of Perwari (Klaten, Dec 1945), the formation of KOWANI (Solo, Feb 1946), its second congress at Madiun deciding to affiliate to WIDF, and women's role in partisan resistan
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
Airgram A-408: Joint Weeka no. 48, 21 Dec 1965
US Embassy Joint Weeka no. 48 (airgram A-408), 21 Dec 1965: estimates 100,000 PKI deaths and 10,000 on Bali; notes Sukarno addressing the 20th anniversary of Perwari. Only women-related scene is a non-communist women's group used as a stage.
The Women's Movement in Postcolonial Indonesia: Gender and Nation (Martyn, 2005)
Elizabeth Martyn's 2005 book (from her Monash PhD) on the 1950s Indonesian women's movement as a whole, covering organisations, socio-economic work, elections, the marriage-law campaign, international activism and the regions. Gerwani appears within a broader field.