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
PKI has one million members: Aidit interview with Ogonyok
De Waarheid, 23 Mar 1956, p. 2: Moscow dispatch that the PKI has one million members, per Aidit in an interview with the Soviet magazine Ogonyok; SOBSI has 2.6 million, the peasant union BTI 2.5 million, Pemuda Rakjat 700,000 and Gerwani about 500,000. Useful as a contemporary membership figure for Gerwani.
Appreciation from Gerwani
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1956-03-28, p. 2): Gerwani's West Java branch publishes an open letter praising the police over the Tengku Angkasa affair, but argues prostitution persists while foreign capital controls resources and prices rise. It urges police to support the people's struggle against foreign capital and for
Mrs Salawati (PKI) in parliament criticises the cabinet
Two-sentence De Nieuwsgier parliamentary note (13 Apr 1956): Mrs. Ch. Salawati (PKI) criticised the cabinet's composition and Prime Minister Burhanuddin Harahap's attempt at compromise with the armed bands on security.
Short Algemeen Indisch Dagblad item (1956-04-17, p. 2): Umi Sardjono, MP of the Pembangun faction, speaks in parliament on the lot of Indonesian women, who lack marriage legislation protection, and appeals for national marriage legislation in the short term.
Dr Ali Akbar in parliament responds to PKI cooperation call
De Nieuwsgier parliamentary note (17 Apr 1956): Masjumi's Ali Akbar said PKI member Loekman's call for cooperation interested his faction, but the optimism evaporated because of attacks by Mrs. Salawati of the PKI faction. Salawati (Daud) appears only as the cause of friction.
Mrs Umi Sardjono in parliament pleads for national marriage legislation
Short De Nieuwsgier parliamentary note (17 Apr 1956): Umi Sardjono (listed as Pembangunan faction) spoke on the fate of Indonesian women, still unprotected by marriage legislation, and pleaded for national marriage legislation.
PNI standpoint
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1956-04-18, p. 2): PNI West Java secretary Rivai explains the party's rejection of the Sundanese Youth Front and its support for regional autonomy within a unitary state. Illustrates daerah representation by noting Mrs. Ch. Salawati (PKI) from Sulawesi raised the security problem in the parlia
Kartini committee in Rangkasbitung
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1956-04-20, p. 2): in Rangkasbitung a Kartini committee is formed with Hartati (Gerwani) as chairwoman and all women's organisations taking part; Kartini Day events from 21 April include a health campaign and a commemoration speech. A second item reports a school and meeting hall built by comm
Short Algemeen Indisch Dagblad item (1956-04-20, p. 3): Mrs. Umi Sardjono (Pembangunan faction) again raises marriage in parliament, hoping for a legal marriage regulation soon and a closer study of adat law in the various regions of Indonesia.
Opening of WIDF Council meeting in Beijing; growth of Indonesian women's movement (Renmin Ribao, 25 April 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 25 Apr 1956 (p. 4), descriptive report on the opening (24 Apr) of the WIDF Council meeting in Beijing: Presidents Mrs Gordon and Cai Chang, Deng Yingchao welcoming Egyptian, Israeli and Indonesian delegates, and Angiola Minella's report on peace, nuclear tests and Asian-African women after Bandung. It cla
Opening of WIDF Council meeting in Beijing; growth of Indonesian women's movement (Renmin Ribao, 25 April 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 25 Apr 1956 (p. 4), descriptive report on the opening (24 Apr) of the WIDF Council meeting in Beijing: Presidents Mrs Gordon and Cai Chang, Deng Yingchao welcoming Egyptian, Israeli and Indonesian delegates, and Angiola Minella's report on peace, nuclear tests and Asian-African women after Bandung. It cla
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
Speeches at the WIDF Council, part 1 (Renmin Ribao, 7 May 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 7 May 1956, p. 5: abridged speeches (part 1) at the WIDF Council meeting in Beijing. Includes a short statement by Mrs Suharti for Gerwani, welcoming the Bandung resolutions, reporting that Gerwani set up the national preparatory committee and delegation for the Lausanne World Assembly of Mothers, and not
Speeches at the WIDF Council, part 1 (Renmin Ribao, 7 May 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 7 May 1956, p. 5: abridged speeches (part 1) at the WIDF Council meeting in Beijing. Includes a short statement by Mrs Suharti for Gerwani, welcoming the Bandung resolutions, reporting that Gerwani set up the national preparatory committee and delegation for the Lausanne World Assembly of Mothers, and not
Berliner Zeitung, 27 May 1956, p. 6: In June in Budapest ...
Berliner Zeitung, 27 May 1956, p. 6: women's column item "Im Juni wird in Budapest ..." ahead of the World Congress of Working Women. One short paragraph reports that the Indonesian women's organisation GERWANI demands a ban on child marriage, forced marriage and bride-purchase, an end to the ban on widows remarrying,
Moscow News, 30 May 1956: Indonesian women's delegation in Moscow
Moscow News (English), 30 May 1956, p. 5. Among general items (Afghan independence day, Anglo-Soviet and trade comment), a short piece reports a delegation of Indonesian women arriving in Moscow at the invitation of the Central Council of Trade Unions, led by Setiati Surasto, secretary of the plantation workers' union,
Neues Deutschland, 17 Jun 1956, p. 5: Meeting point of women from all Germany
Neues Deutschland, 17 June 1956, p. 5: correspondent report 'Treffpunkt der Frauen ganz Deutschlands' from the World Conference of Working Women in Budapest. A young pregnant Indonesian delegate, unnamed, is moved to receive a pram with full baby outfit from the German delegation during gift exchanges with Chinese wome
BP4 congress
Short Algemeen Indisch Dagblad item (1956-06-21, p. 2): the BP4 (marriage-counselling body) will hold its first Indonesian congress in August. Gerwani had applied some time earlier for BP4 membership without a decision; nineteen organisations are affiliated so far.
List of Konstituante members, including Setiati Surasto and Suwardiningsih (Bintang Timur, 17 July 1956)
Bintang Timur, 17 July 1956, p. 3 (four-page issue). Continues the published lists of candidates/elected members for the Konstituante by party; among the PKI-and-allies list (OCR columns interleaved with NU, Masyumi and regional lists) appear Setiati Surasto and Suwardiningsih, alongside Nyoto and others. Remainder is
Communist Campaign in Indonesia (OIR report, July 1956)
State Department intelligence report (17 July 1956) on the Soviet and Chinese communist campaign in Indonesia after the 1956 visits, with a chronology of Indonesia-China exchanges. Gerwani features only in the chronology: a May 1956 Gerwani protest against US H-bomb tests, plus Indonesian delegations to the WIDF meetin
Daily Worker, 24 July 1956: Women unionists from 42 lands hold conference in Budapest
Page 4 of the Daily Worker (New York, 24 Jul 1956) reporting a Budapest conference of women trade unionists from 42 countries called by the WFTU, which demanded equal pay and opportunities and paid maternity leave. An unnamed delegate from Indonesia is cited on women workers being treated as cheap labour. Gerwani is no
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
Gudok, 17 Aug 1956: 'Indonesia today' for the Republic's 11th anniversary
Gudok (Soviet railwaymen's paper), 17 Aug 1956, p. 4. Survey article by G. Svetlanov for the Republic's 11th anniversary: Dutch colonial legacy, nationalisations, five-year plan, foreign policy and Sukarno's coming visit. One passage lists Gerwani, 'half a million members', among leading patriotic mass organisations be
Indonesian women's leaders meet Song Qingling (Renmin Ribao, 18 August 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 18 Aug 1956, p. 1 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Song Qingling, visiting Indonesia, is welcomed at a gathering of Indonesian women's leaders on 16 August, chaired by Mrs Abdulgani, with Kowani chair Mrs Santoso and wives of leading politicians present. Song speaks on peaceful coexistence and women's rights. Gerwani i
Indonesian women's leaders meet Song Qingling (Renmin Ribao, 18 August 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 18 Aug 1956, p. 1 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Song Qingling, visiting Indonesia, is welcomed at a gathering of Indonesian women's leaders on 16 August, chaired by Mrs Abdulgani, with Kowani chair Mrs Santoso and wives of leading politicians present. Song speaks on peaceful coexistence and women's rights. Gerwani i
Pravda, 5 Sep 1956: President Sukarno's visit to the Soviet Union
Pravda, 5 Sept 1956 (No. 249), partial issue (pp. 1, 4, 6, machine-translated): TASS and correspondents' reports on President Sukarno's tour of the USSR (Sverdlovsk, Tashkent) and Indonesian reactions. On p. 6 O. Chechetkina quotes Darmini, 'one of the leaders of the mass women's organization Gerwani', hailing the visi
Pravda, 5 Sep 1956: Gerwani leader on Sukarno's visit to the USSR (excerpt)
Keyword-hit excerpt of Pravda, No. 249, 5 Sept 1956, report by correspondent O. Chechetkina (Jakarta, 4 Sept) on Indonesian reactions to President Sukarno's visit to the USSR. D. N. Aidit and Darmini, 'one of the leaders of the mass women's organization Gerwani', hail it as the first visit of Indonesia's president to t
Installation of transitional council
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1956-09-13, p. 2): installation of Bandung's transitional municipal council by Governor Sanusi Hardjadinata. A photo caption lists members, including Mrs. Rd. Moesmini of Gerwani, Miss Sari Banon Jachja (NU) and Mrs. Amartiwi Moh. Saleh (PSI); the council serves one year.