News in brief
Dutch newspaper column of brief news (1955-09-22, p. 2); only the final item concerns Indonesia: per the daily Pedoman, women leaders will ask PM Harahap to keep Sukarno's second wife out of the Bogor palace, claiming he broke a promise. Text breaks off. Other items are unrelated. Gerwani not named.
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.
News in brief ('Woman against woman')
'News in brief' column, Provinciale Overijsselsche en Zwolsche Courant (24 Sep 1955). One item, 'Woman against woman', cites Pedoman: leaders of Indonesian women will ask Premier Harahap to keep Sukarno's second wife out of the Bogor palace, saying he broke a promise. Text breaks off. Other items unrelated; no Gerwani
Elections in Indonesia on Thursday
Arnhemsche Courant, 27 Sept 1955: preview of Indonesia's first general elections (29 Sept), expecting a communist-Masjumi contest and noting that women have emerged as a political force within existing parties. Gerwani is not named; useful context for the 1955 elections.
Indonesia goes to choose symbols
Nieuwe Tilburgsche Courant, 27 September 1955, p. 5: preview of Indonesia's first general election, with about 43 million voters, 63 parties and symbol-based ballots for illiterates (hammer and sickle versus buffalo head). It expects a PKI-Masjumi contest and notes that Indonesian women have emerged as a political forc
Votes in the jungle: elections in Indonesia on Thursday
Nijmeegsch Dagblad (27 Sep 1955) pre-election report on Indonesia's first general elections: 43 million voters, 63 parties, expected Masyumi–PKI contest, PKI hoping for 5 million votes. Notes women emerging as a political force within parties, citing a Masyumi women's rally; Gerwani is not named.
Elections in Indonesia on Thursday: about half of voters expected at the polls
Reuter pre-election report (27 Sep 1955) on Indonesia's first general elections: 43 million voters, 63 parties, a Masyumi–PKI contest, PKI hoping for 5 million votes. Mentions women's political activity within parties via a Masyumi women's rally; Gerwani not named.
Elections in Indonesia on Thursday: about half of voters expected at the polls
Reuter pre-election report (27 Sep 1955) on Indonesia's first general elections: 43 million voters, 63 parties, a Masyumi–PKI contest, PKI hoping for 5 million votes. Mentions women's political activity within parties via a Masyumi women's rally; Gerwani not named. Same text as the Ons Noorden item, here in Overijssels
General elections begin Thursday in Indonesia
Reuter pre-election report (27 Sep 1955) on Indonesia's first general elections: 43 million voters, 63 parties, a Masyumi–PKI contest, PKI hoping for 5 million votes. Women emerge as a political force within parties; Gerwani is not named.
After fierce campaign 43 million Indonesians vote Thursday
Reuter pre-election report (27 Sep 1955) on Indonesia's first general elections: 43 million voters, 63 parties, a Masyumi–PKI contest, PKI hoping for 5 million votes. Women emerge as a political force within parties; Gerwani is not named. Version in Zutphens Dagblad also quotes a Masyumi women's rally of about 1,000 wh
Elections tomorrow in Indonesia
Nieuwsblad voor de Hoeksche Waard en IJselmonde, 28 September 1955, p. 1: preview of Indonesia's first general election with 43 million voters and 63 parties, expecting a PKI-Masjumi contest. It notes women as a political force within existing parties, citing a Masjumi women's meeting of about 1,000. Gerwani is not nam
A village cast its vote
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad reportage (1955-09-30, p. 2) from the village of Tjoblong-Sekeloa, Bandung, on the 29 September 1955 election: 1,147 voters at a bamboo polling place. A child-minding and first-aid post near the booths is run by a committee of eleven women: one from Muslimat, two from Wanita Demokrat and eight
Events in Indonesia (conclusion): Harahap government and mass organisations
De Waarheid, 8 Oct 1955, p. 3: final part of Cor Geugjes's series on events in Indonesia, arguing the Harahap government (which replaced Ali Sastroamidjojo) is resisted: elections could not be postponed, New Guinea was raised at the UN, and preliminary results defeat Masjumi and PSI. Cites PKI (500,000), SOBSI (3 milli
P.N.I. (analysis of the 1955 election result)
Het Parool column 'P.N.I.' (11 Nov 1955) analysing the 1955 Indonesian election result: the PNI did well despite corruption; Sukarno's second marriage (Hartini) had been thought to hurt him as it moved many prominent Indonesian women to militant counter-action, but the fight against polygamy was a concern of a handful
Sukarno's 'find'
Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 15 November 1955, p. 1: hostile Dutch editorial on Sukarno's Heroes' Day speech alleging a foreign plot. Among causes of his declining popularity it lists 'the indignation of the organised Indonesian women, who do not appreciate the marriage escapades of their president'. Gerwani is not name
Constituent Assembly and marriage legislation: Gerwani statement
De Nieuwsgier item (28 Nov 1955) reporting a Gerwani central board statement: speaking of the president's household while ignoring the fight for a democratic marriage law is pointless. It urges women to vote so the Konstituante secures women's rights per the UN Declaration, citing the forced marriage of Maisuri of Tanj
Gerwani wants a democratic marriage law
De Locomotief, 29 Nov 1955: statement by Gerwani's central board (OCR partly garbled) calling for a democratic marriage law, citing the Maisuri forced-marriage case as proof that women's constitutional rights are violated. It urges women to be active in the Constituent Assembly elections and argues the 'first lady' deb
Active in the elections
Java-Bode, 29 November 1955, p. 2: partly missing statement by the Gerwani central board secretariat, on the 'first lady' debate, urging women to be active in the Konstituante elections and to focus on a democratic marriage law, not on the first-lady status. It rejects privileges derived from a husband's position and c
Gerwani on the position of women in marriage
Java-Bode, 29 November 1955, p. 2: Gerwani central board secretariat statement on women's position in marriage, ahead of the Konstituante elections and amid the 'first lady' issue. It says women's constitutional rights are not respected, citing the Maisuri forced-marriage case, and blames governments' failure to enact
Gerwani on marriage: polygamy should in principle be forbidden
De Locomotief, 30 Nov 1955: Gerwani's central board announces its proposals for marriage regulation to the coming Constituante: marriage without coercion, free choice and equal rights; abolition of child, forced and purchase marriages and mistress-keeping; polygamy to be forbidden in principle, and if allowed on religi
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
Lectures by Gerwani Semarang on women's rights and Regulation 19
De Locomotief, 30 Nov 1955: Gerwani Semarang held an evening of lectures by board members on women's rights and the inequality kept in force by Government Regulation 19 (1952 pensions for plural wives). Speakers recalled the organisation's help in vote counting and childcare centres during the elections. Text partly ga
Protest against beauty contest: Gerwani condemns 'Bunga Indonesia' contest
Short De Nieuwsgier item (30 Nov 1955): Gerwani, via board member Maria Ulfa Santoso, publicly condemned a planned "Bunga Indonesia" beauty contest by Gadjah Mada University students in Yogyakarta; student representatives were to travel to Jakarta to talk with the Gerwani board.
Gerwani on the position of women in marriage
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 3 Dec 1955, p. 3: statement by the Gerwani central board secretariat, citing the Maisuri case, that women's constitutional rights are not respected without a democratic marriage law. Urges women to take part in Konstituante elections and rejects the 'first lady' debate as divisive and a
Successful festive evening of the Dutch Women's Movement (ten years of WIDF)
De Waarheid, 12 Dec 1955, p. 3: report on the NVB's festive evening in Amsterdam for the WIDF's tenth anniversary, with a speech by Betty Zeehandelaar on equal pay and women's rights, a Belgian greeting, and a Scapino ballet programme. At the close, letters were sent to the WIDF and to Gerwani asserting Indonesia's rig
Ensiklopedia Indonesia, part II: important contribution to knowledge of this country
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad review (1955-12-19, p. 2) of volume II (F-M) of the Ensiklopedia Indonesia. The reviewer praises it but objects to terminology on the Madiun affair and states it is wrong to list the Gerakan Revolusi Rakjat or the Gerwis as communist organisations, proposing the Ministry of Information's 'Kepar
University examinations: Universitas Indonesia medical pass list
Short De Nieuwsgier list (24 Dec 1955) of Universitas Indonesia medical students who passed examinations; "Mrs. Soetanti Aidit" passed the doctor's exam A1 (first part). Soetanti was D.N. Aidit's wife; Gerwani is not mentioned.
Foreign investment: communist interpellation in Parliament
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1955-12-27, p. 2): the communist parliamentary faction (Sakirman, Tjugito, Mrs. Suwarti, Achmad Sumadi, Sujono, S. Utarjo) submits a written interpellation on foreign capital investment, arguing the RTC agreements restored monopoly capital, citing colonial-era profits, and asking eight detaile
University examinations: Jakarta medical faculty pass list
De Locomotief, 27 Dec 1955: list of passes in Jakarta medical faculty examinations; 'Miss Soetanti Aidit' passed the first part of her exam. Gerwani is not mentioned and the item does not state she is D.N. Aidit's relative.
Interpellation on foreign enterprise by PKI-aligned MPs
De Nieuwsgier report (27 Dec 1955) on a parliamentary interpellation by PKI-aligned members (Sakirman, Tjugito, Mrs. Suwarti, Sumadi, Djoko Sudjono, Utarjo) on the government's foreign-investment policy, asking about foreign monopoly capital, profit transfers and trade with East and West. Gerwani is not mentioned.