Women from everywhere: many delegations already on their way to Copenhagen
De Waarheid, 20 May 1953, p. 5: preview of the WIDF World Congress of Women in Copenhagen (5-10 June 1953) with delegations from about 80 countries. Notes an Indonesian member on the WIDF preparatory committee and that Indonesian and Australian delegations are already en route; also covers Vietnamese, African, Indian,
Neues Deutschland, 4 Jun 1953, p. 1: Women's delegations seen off to the World Congress
Neues Deutschland, 4 June 1953, p. 1: picture caption 'Frauendelegationen zum Weltkongreß verabschiedet'. Delegates from Burma, Indonesia, Austria, the GDR and China were formally seen off in Berlin to the World Congress of Women in Copenhagen (opening 5 June); the photo shows Wilhelmine Schirmer-Pröscher with the Chin
Sunday Worker, 7 June 1953, p. 4: Issues absorb Women's World Meet (WIDF Copenhagen Congress)
Sunday Worker, 7 June 1953, p. 4: report on the opening of the WIDF World Congress of Women in Copenhagen, with debates on peace and children and delegates from many countries, including Burma, Japan and the Philippines. Indonesia appears only in a speech listing the Dutch in Indonesia among colonial powers; no Indones
The Third World Women's Congress: 1,700 delegates from over 80 countries in Copenhagen
De Waarheid, 10 Jun 1953, p. 5: air-mail report from Copenhagen on the Third World Congress of Women (WIDF): 1,700 delegates from over 80 countries, opened by Eugenie Cotton, with speeches by Chinese and Soviet delegates and a Dutch delegate. Delegates from Korea, Malaya and Vietnam were refused entry. Indonesian deleg
Izvestiia, 11 Jun 1953: at the World Congress of Women, Copenhagen
Izvestiia, 11 Jun 1953, p. 3. TASS and correspondent reports from the Copenhagen World Congress of Women. Indonesian women's moment: a Dutch delegate greeted Indonesian women, and Mrs Van Staveren, whose son refused to fight in Indonesia and was jailed for seven years, handed his portrait to Indonesian delegate Surasto
Sunday Worker, 28 June 1953, p. 12: World Congress of Women, Copenhagen (Indonesian delegates)
Sunday Worker, 28 June 1953, p. 12: account of the WIDF World Congress of Women in Copenhagen, describing delegates in the lobby (including 'exquisite Indonesians') and calls for peace. A moving scene has Indonesian and Dutch women embracing after a Dutch delegate said her people fought for liberty everywhere; Vietnam,
FBIS, 4 July 1953: Foreign visitors (Copenhagen delegates arrive in Peking, including Kartinah)
FBIS-monitored Xinhua item (4 Jul 1953): eighteen Chinese delegates to the World Congress of Women (Copenhagen), led by deputy leader Chang Yun, returned to Peking on 4 July with ten foreign women delegates invited to visit China, including Kartinah of Indonesia (Kartinah Kurdi, Gerwis). Shows the post-Copenhagen China
Chinese delegation returns from World Congress of Women; foreign guests arrive, incl. Kartina of Gerwis West Java
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao, 5 July 1953 (p. 1): part of the Chinese delegation to the World Congress of Women (Copenhagen) returns to Beijing, with the first foreign women delegates invited to tour China. The Indonesian guest is Kartina (rendered Katina), member of the West Java branch of Gerwis, arriving with Burme
Chinese delegation returns from World Congress of Women; foreign guests arrive, incl. Kartina of Gerwis West Java
Xinhua report in Renmin Ribao, 5 July 1953 (p. 1): part of the Chinese delegation to the World Congress of Women (Copenhagen) returns to Beijing, with the first foreign women delegates invited to tour China. The Indonesian guest is Kartina (rendered Katina), member of the West Java branch of Gerwis, arriving with Burme
Surakarta: Gerwis meets (Central Java working conference)
De Locomotief, 11 July 1953: one-line notice from Surakarta that the Central Java Commissariat of Gerwis will hold a working conference from 27 July (end date garbled in source), with delegates from all of Central Java.
New demonstrations in West Java? Delegation presents open letter to Sukarno
Aneta report in De Vrije Pers (16 Jul 1953) that a delegation of parties and groups (PPDI, Partai Buruh, PNI, PKI, Gerwis, Permai) which demonstrated in Bandung met Sukarno to present an open letter urging a decree declaring Darul Islam bands terrorists to be destroyed. The Badan Kontak Nasional demanded a progressive
Salatiga: national action committee formed
De Locomotief, 29 July 1953: Salatiga branches of SOBSI, BTI, PPDI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis jointly convene a meeting of 35 organisations and parties, which forms a national action committee and decides to send an open letter to Sukarno urging implementation of parliament's decisions and action against Darul Islam and
Independence Day: sober celebration will mark this 17 August
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1953-08-14, p. 2): programme and committee for a sober 17 August celebration in Bandung (no slogans, only the Red-White flag), plus a sports programme. The committee's women treasurers include Mrs. Tata of Gerwis alongside Perwari and Parkiwa; PNI, Masyumi and PKI chair it. Much of the text is
Indonesian women back from Copenhagen
Java-Bode, 24 August 1953, p. 2: badly garbled report on a welcome-back gathering in Jakarta for the eight-member Indonesian delegation to the Copenhagen world women's congress (June 1953). Named delegates include Setiati Surasto (chair) and Asijah, with Gerwis affiliation; the congress appealed to women worldwide for
Other trade unions: Sarbupri strike and BTI congress solidarity
De Vrije Pers fragment (17 Sep 1953) on trade-union reactions to the Sarbupri plantation workers' strike. It notes that the BTI's second congress, attended by SOBSI, Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwis representatives, declared solidarity with the strike and instructed its branches to support strikers.
Merger of the peasant unions
Short item, Indische Courant voor Nederland, 23 Sep 1953, p. 3: the BTI congress votes 122 to 8 to merge with Rukun Tani Indonesia; dissenting board members are suspended. Gerwis is reported to have welcomed the BTI-RTI merger.
Australian women tell about World Congress
Tribune (Sydney), 14 Oct 1953, p. 6: three Australian delegates (Flo Davis, Joyce Egan, Fuchsia Lewin) describe the WIDF World Congress of Women, Copenhagen, June 1953 (1,187 women, 70 countries). They stress peace, equal pay and socialist-bloc childcare. Indonesia appears briefly: Indonesian women urge support for a K
Australian women tell about World Congress
Tribune (Sydney), 14 Oct 1953, p. 6: three Australian delegates (Flo Davis, Joyce Egan, Fuchsia Lewin) describe the WIDF World Congress of Women, Copenhagen, June 1953 (1,187 women, 70 countries). They stress peace, equal pay and socialist-bloc childcare. Indonesia appears briefly: Indonesian women urge support for a K
Against forced marriage (Gerwis conference, October 1953)
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (28 Oct 1953, p.2): at its 25 October conference the Jakarta women's organisation Gerwis resolved on 'Menteng 31' (supporting its return to youth but asking the government to rehouse the girls living there) and on a forced marriage of a 60-year-old man to a 14-year-old schoolgirl, expressing
Gerwis conference in Bandung: new marriage law necessary
De Waarheid, 18 Nov 1953, p. 5: short report that the West Java branches of Gerwis ended a two-day conference in Bandung, adopting a resolution demanding that the government draft a new marriage law quickly and set minimum labour conditions for women workers. Same item notes a SARBUPRI strike of about 200 workers at th
Reports from Tegal: revived Kowani representation
De Locomotief, 21 Nov 1953, Tegal reports: the local KOWANI representation was revived on 28 Aug under Mrs Sarwono, uniting ten women's organisations including Gerwis, Perwari-type groups, Muslimat, Aisjiah and Bhayangkari. It collected money and clothes for terror victims and planned to mark KOWANI's 25th anniversary
Growing activity of the Indonesian women's movement: Malang conference figures
De Waarheid, 9 Dec 1953, p. 5: Malang dispatch on a Gerwis conference reviewing East Java work. In six months membership rose from 12,000 to 16,420 and branches from 37 to 49; literacy courses ran in 120 villages with 1,349 participants; 15 kindergartens (kleuterbewaarplaatsen) opened, holding almost 600 children daily
A quiet invasion of the governor's office: women petition for a marriage law
De Locomotief, 17 Dec 1953: about a hundred women from seven Semarang associations, led by Perwari and including Gerwis, ride 40 becaks to the Governor's Office to petition for a marriage law securing women's legal position and for a freeze on the 1952 regulation giving pensions to second-to-fourth wives. A Gedung Rakj
Soviet Woman, 31 Dec 1953: 'We Are Stronger Than Ever', WIDF and the Copenhagen Congress
Soviet Woman, 31 Dec 1953, pp. 49-52: WIDF declaration for peaceful settlement and Eugenie Cotton's statement, then Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier's 'We are stronger than ever' on follow-up to the Copenhagen World Congress of Women. One sentence notes the Indonesian women's union GERWIS would hold its congress in Dece