Mayor explains composition of regency election committees in Jakarta
De Nieuwsgier, 13 Feb 1954: Jakarta Mayor Sudiro explains the composition of the three regency election committees, giving one seat each to Masjumi, PNI, Gerwis, NU, PKI, PIR, Perwari and others. Gerwis's seat falls from two to one, with a Gerwis woman seated to represent 'socialism'; the Wanita Demokrat seat passes to
Soviet Woman, Feb 1954: Rantijem, 'Our Unity Is Growing Stronger'
Soviet Woman, 28 Feb 1954, p. 30: article by Rantijem (SOBSI National Council member), written after her Nov 1953 USSR tour with a trade union delegation, on Indonesian women's conditions. Describes legal bars to women's state and foreign-firm work, unequal pay (4.30 rupees/day vs 155.49 subsistence minimum), no matern
Women celebrate 8 March in Jakarta, 1954
De Nieuwsgier, 9 Mar 1954: International Women's Day is commemorated in Jakarta's Gedung Pertemuan with Mrs Rasuna Said, Dr Thung Sin Nio and members of Gerwis's central board present. Chair Mrs Effendie says women worldwide mark the day of sisterhood for equal rights and peace regardless of conviction.
International Women's Day
Java-Bode, 9 March 1954, p. 2: report on the International Women's Day commemoration in Jakarta attended by Rasuna Said, Dr Thung Sun Nio and Gerwis central board members. Chair Mrs Effendie listed Indonesian women's grievances: price rises, no democratic marriage law or labour law for women, maternal and infant mortal
International Women's Day (1954)
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 17 Mar 1954, p. 2: International Women's Day meeting in Jakarta attended by MP Rasuna Said, Dr Thung Sin Nio and Gerwis central board members. Chair Mrs Effendie lists price rises, no democratic marriage law, no women's labour law, divorce, polygamy and maternal deaths; Rasuna Said pled
FBIS, 4 April 1954: 'Gerwani' representatives visit Sukarno
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio (4 Apr 1954): President and Madame Sukarno received Gerwani members after their Second Congress; Sukarno said equal rights are not women's final mission, which needs a just, prosperous country. A Dutch women's movement member spoke for peace; Sukarno tied Indonesian-Dutch understanding to W
Good relations with Netherlands only after return of Irian (Gerwani received by Sukarno)
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (5 Apr 1954, p.1): President and Mrs Sukarno received Gerwani members (the former Gerwis) after their five-day Jakarta congress. Sukarno said a just state cannot be achieved by one sex alone. Dutch communist MP Rie Lips-Odinot, who attended, voiced Dutch sympathy; Sukarno replied that good r
President receives Gerwani: 'Men and women must build the state together'
Java-Bode, 5 April 1954, p. 2: President Sukarno and his wife received Gerwani (formerly Gerwis) members at the end of their five-day Jakarta congress. Sukarno said the just and prosperous state cannot be built by one sex alone, and that women's problems are solved not by equal rights alone but by that state, which men
Istanboul: Indonesian women are bustling (Sukarno's second marriage)
Istanbul newspaper Istanboul (19 Sep 1954, p.3): a short Jakarta dispatch 'Les femmes indonésiennes se démènent' (Indonesian women are bustling) says rumours about Sukarno's second marriage are exaggerated per a committee formed to safeguard his reputation, while Indonesian women attach great importance to the marriage
Istanboul: Indonesian women are bustling (Sukarno's second marriage; extract)
Istanboul (19 Sep 1954, p.3), snippet extract: Jakarta dispatch saying rumours about Sukarno's second marriage are exaggerated, and that Indonesian women attach great importance to the marriage since it could decide their future status.
What others write
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad press review (1954-09-20, p. 2): Jakarta papers commemorate the 1948 Madiun revolt as a communist plot; Medan papers criticise the information minister; and Malay and Philippine women and press react to Sukarno's second marriage, with Malay Ibu Kaum leaders saying Muslim public figures should n
Goor: women's delegation with Sukarno (page)
Twentsch Dagblad Tubantia (20 Sep 1954), local page 'Goor' with a short item: a delegation of Indonesian women that met over Sukarno's marriage to Mrs Suwondo visited the president without public statements. Reports the divided Indonesian press and Suara Rakyat's lament. Other page items unrelated; Gerwani not named.
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
Sukarno's second marriage
Dutch newspaper roundup (1954-09-21, p. 9) of Indonesian press reactions to President Sukarno's second marriage (to Mrs. Soewondo), called a serious blow to the women's movement. A delegation of women led by Perwari chair Mrs. Kortowijono visited the palace. Press is split; Indonesia Raya stresses women's long fight ov
Women's delegation at the palace: uproar over Sukarno's new marriage
Leeuwarder Courant, 21 September 1954, p. 3: Dutch roundup of the uproar over Sukarno's marriage to Hartini. A four-woman delegation led by Perwari chair Mrs Kartowijono visited the palace; Indonesian, Chinese and Malayan-region papers are quoted, some warning that the fuss helps the PKI, Indonesia Raya calling it a bl
Uproar over Sukarno's marriage not yet calmed: women's delegation received by the president
Provinciale Drentsche en Asser Courant (21 Sep 1954): uproar over Sukarno's marriage to Mrs Suwondo (Hartini). A four-woman delegation led by Perwari chair Mrs Kartowijono spent an hour at the palace. Indonesian papers divide; Keng Po fears PKI advantage, Indonesia Raya calls the marriage 'a great blow to the women's m
Sukarno's second marriage: Indonesian press deplores president's decision
Provinciale Overijsselsche en Zwolsche Courant (21 Sep 1954) survey of Indonesian press reaction to Sukarno's second marriage (to Mrs Suwondo): attacks on the 'palace clique', Keng Po's fear it will favour the PKI, Suara Rakyat and Pikiran Rakyat lamenting a presidential crisis. A Perwari-led women's delegation visited
FBIS, 25 September 1954: Report on USSR (Gerwani-sponsored meeting)
FBIS item (25 Sep 1954): on 24 September three Indonesian women who recently visited the Soviet Union lectured on their impressions: social care of women, workers, equal rights, absence of prostitution and marriage legislation. The meeting, sponsored by Gerwani, drew a large audience of women and trade unionists. Shows
Indonesian women rise up against Sukarno's second marriage
Le Lorrain (30 Sep 1954, p.10), Jakarta dispatch: Sukarno's secret June marriage to Hartini Suwondo has turned political after women's organisation Perwari asked government and parliament to regulate leaders' marriages and draw up a marriage law. It blames Sukarno for not warning Fatmawati. A committee defends his repu
Indonesian women rise up against Sukarno's second marriage (extract)
Le Lorrain (30 Sep 1954, p.10), snippet extract: Indonesian women rise up against Sukarno's second marriage; recalls his secret June marriage to Hartini Suwondo, a 31-year-old divorcee and mother of five.
Sukarno's marriage
Tubantia/Twentsch Dagblad brief (7 Oct 1954): the Indonesian parliament asks the government's view on Sukarno's second marriage and, with communists voting against, agrees to consider a women's movement petition to deprive Muslim men of the right to marry more than one wife. Relevant to the polygamy campaign Gerwani an
From parliament: legal position of members must be regulated
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (25 Nov 1954, p.2): parliamentary report on the bill on legal position of MPs. Mrs Moedigdio (Mudigdio) of the PKI objected to its content and argued parliamentary immunity is an aim of the democratic system that must be well maintained; other speakers include Murba, Progressive, PNI and Mas
Action for liberation of Irian (mass meeting, Jakarta, December 1954)
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (6 Dec 1954, p.2): a mass meeting in Jakarta, organised by the Irian liberation committee and women's organisations, adopted a resolution urging unilateral incorporation of Irian, breaking relations and agreements with the Netherlands. Speakers included Mrs Sularman Hadikusumo (Wanita Demokr
Indonesian Mother's Day: reader's contribution on the 1928 women's congress
Reader's contribution in the Surinamese De Surinamer (22 Dec 1954) on Indonesian Mother's Day, commemorating the 1928 women's congress, Kartini, and women ministers Maria Ulfa Santoso and S.K. Trimurti; contrasts past seclusion with present rights and compares Indonesian women's social work with Paramaribo. Gerwani is
The Crescent and the Rising Sun: Indonesian Islam under the Japanese Occupation of Java 1942-45 (Benda, 1955)
Harry J. Benda, The Crescent and the Rising Sun: Indonesian Islam under the Japanese Occupation of Java, 1942-45 (PhD thesis, Cornell, June 1955), on Japanese policy towards Islam, Masjumi and the mass organisations Putera and Hokokai. Gerwani is not mentioned (it was founded after the thesis's period). The only women'
Djakarta postpones the evil day (The Observer, 16 January 1955)
The Observer, 16 Jan 1955, p.7, Rawle Knox, 'Djakarta Postpones the Evil Day': impressionistic report from Jakarta on a lively, disorderly capital, the Ali Sastroamidjojo government's dependence on Communist support, Sukarno's drift from impartiality, the delayed first election and anti-Dutch boycotts. A passing quote
Editorial board of the magazine Wanita Indonesia (Harian Rakjat, 26 February 1955)
Harian Rakjat, 26 Feb 1955: page 3 carries an advertisement and masthead for the monthly women's magazine 'Wanita Indonesia' (PKI-linked): editor Nn. Siti Asiyah, contributors including S.K. Trimurti, Ruslati, Sumbiyah and Kartinah (administration, CC PKI Jakarta), Maasje Siwi in Berlin as foreign correspondent. Page 1
Dunántúli Napló, 27 Feb 1955: Jakarta, appeal against atomic war
Dunántúli Napló, 27 Feb 1955, foreign-news item from Jakarta: Indonesian public figures, including Minister Abbas and Professors Prijono and Purbotiningrat, signed the appeal against atomic war, and the Indonesian women's federation called on women to collect signatures. The translator notes the federation is not named
Soviet Woman, 30 Apr 1955: 'Visit to Indonesia' (V. Mikosha and I. Sokolnikov)
Soviet Woman, 30 Apr 1955, p. 36 (fragment): 'Visit to Indonesia' by film-makers V. Mikosha and I. Sokolnikov, describing two months filming a documentary in Indonesia. Includes filming the welcome at Jakarta airfield for an Indonesian women's delegation returning from the USSR. Umi Sardjono, listed in metadata, does n
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