News from Indonesia, 15 July 1953 (Gerwis and the Rosenberg children)
Local news column, Indische Courant voor Nederland, 15 Jul 1953, p. 3. Only relevant item: Gerwis urged the American government, via the US embassy in Jakarta, to guarantee the welfare of the two Rosenberg children. Other items concern a lost copra boat and Mount Sumbing.
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
Delegation of Bandung demonstrators to the president
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (17 Jul 1953, p.2): a delegation of PPDI, Partai Buruh, PNI, PKI, PRIM, Gerwis and Permai, after a large Bandung demonstration, met Sukarno to present an open letter asking for a decree declaring DI and other bands enemies of the state to be eradicated by force. Sukarno agreed personally but
International Organ Competition in Haarlem
Nieuwe Haarlemsche Courant, 18 July 1953, p. 9: page with an organ-competition review (unrelated) and short items on the Dutch High Commissioner's East Java tour and Foreign Minister Luns in Karachi, who held talks with the Indonesian foreign minister. No Gerwani, Gerwis or women's movement content; the indexed name 'T
Resolution to parliament
Short Algemeen Indisch Dagblad item (1953-07-24, p. 2): delegation of SOBSI, Perbepsi, Komite Rakjat, IPPI and Gerwis hands parliament speaker Sartono a resolution demanding that the new cabinet be anti-Darul Islam and that the government declare DI an enemy of the state. Text ends abruptly.
SOBSI urges an 'anti-DI cabinet'
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (25 Jul 1953, p.2): a delegation of SOBSI, Pwbebsi, Komité Rakjat, LPPI and Gerwis, led by Munir of SOBSI, handed Parliament's speaker a resolution from a Jakarta mass meeting demanding an 'anti-DI cabinet' and a decree declaring Darul Islam an enemy of the state. The delegation was received
Sumatran groups up in arms against Masjumi
De Locomotief, 27 July 1953: a Palembang delegation (PIR, PNI, PKI) flies to Jakarta with a statement signed by six parties and 22 organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis. It demands early elections, anti-corruption action, settlement of the Tanjung Morawa affair and a democratic cabinet without Ma
Statement of groupings in South Sumatra
De Nieuwsgier, 27 July 1953: Palembang delegation (PIR, PNI, PKI) flies to Jakarta with a joint statement by six parties and 22 organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis. It says a PNI-Masjumi cabinet is no longer possible, urges a democratic parliamentary cabinet under Wongsonegoro, action against D
Delegation of parties in South Sumatra to Jakarta
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (29 Jul 1953, p.2): a delegation of parties and organisations in Palembang flew to Jakarta with a joint declaration signed by six parties (PIR, PNI, PKI, Partai Buruh, Permai, Murba) and 22 organisations including SOBSI, BTI, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis. It rejects a cabinet built on PNI and Ma
Committee formed to help victims of terror: Gerwis initiative
De Waarheid, 31 Jul 1953, p. 5: short Jakarta dispatch (20 July) that on Gerwis's initiative a committee was formed to assist victims of terrorist bands such as Darul Islam, joined by SOBSI, the veterans' league Perbepsi, student organisation IPPI and the peasants' union RTI. Shows Gerwis leading a relief and anti-Daru
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
Demonstration against the Dutch press in Surabaya
Short Het Rotterdamsch Parool item (26 Aug 1953, p.5): in Surabaya the trial of 42 students over the wrecking of the 'De Vrije Pers' offices; thousands of students and pupils demonstrated beforehand, supported by the leftist union SOBSI and Gerwis, 'a leftist women's organisation', demanding dismissal of charges and cu
Merger of peasant unions
Java-Bode, 18 September 1953, p. 2: report that the Barisan Tani Indonesia (BTI) congress in Jakarta voted 122 in favour of merging with the Rukun Tani Indonesia, with some BTI executive members suspended. The damaged OCR ends by saying Gerwis expressed views on the merger; the content of those views is unreadable.
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.
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
CIA information report, 6 November 1953: Financial problems of communist front organizations
CIA information report, 6 Nov 1953: 'Financial Problems of Communist Front Organizations' (Indonesia). Reports that the World Peace Committee sought Rp 50,000 from a Chinese organisation and that GERWIS has not paid its monthly Rp 2,500 to SOBSI since January 1953 and has also asked for aid. One page; a single paragrap
National and Foreign News in Brief (Daily Mirror, 18 December 1953)
Daily Mirror (Sydney), 18 December 1953, p. 11, a page of national and foreign news briefs. Only one item concerns Indonesia: a short AP report from Jakarta that 2,000 sarong-clad Indonesian women jammed the capital's streets demanding a government ban on polygamy and child marriage. No organisation is named. The other
PSI objects to composition of Jakarta election committees
De Nieuwsgier, 18 Dec 1953: three Jakarta branches of the PSI protest to Mayor Sudiro that election committees for the Greater Jakarta regencies seat only certain parties and their 'side organisations', naming Gerwis, Wanita Demokrat, Petani, Sobri, Sobsi and PPR as associations with seats. Shows the political contest
PSI dissatisfied: election committee not representative
Java-Bode, 18 December 1953, p. 2: the PSI's Jakarta Raya branches complain to Mayor Sudiro that the election committees for the 1955 elections are unrepresentative. The PSI coordinator names Gerwis, Wanita Demokrat, Petani, Sobri, Sobsi and PPR among the associations holding seats, calling them auxiliaries of parties.
PSI dissatisfied: election committee not representative
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 23 Dec 1953, p. 2: PSI branches complain to Jakarta mayor Sudiro that election committees in Jakarta Raya are unrepresentative, dominated by party affiliates; the PSI coordinator names Gerwis, Wanita Demokrat, Sobsi, PPR and others among bodies holding seats.
Women held a demonstration
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 23 Dec 1953, p. 3: over 2,000 women led by Perwari march in Jakarta against the amendment of Government Regulation 19 on marriage conditions and demand a marriage law; in Semarang, seven women's groups including Gerwis petition the Central Java governor.
News anthology: Moestopo defends polygamy and pensions for four wives
News digest in De Vrije Pers (31 Dec 1953). Colonel Dr. Moestopo, for the "Corps of Fighting Women", defended polygamy and the pension rule for up to four wives, arguing withdrawal would stimulate prostitution. Gerwis is not named, but this is context for the contemporary polygamy debate.
Documents of the Fifth National Congress of the PKI (Bintang Merah IX, 2-3), 1954
Special issue of Bintang Merah with documents of the PKI Fifth National Congress (Jakarta, 16–20 March 1954): congress report, greetings from sixteen foreign communist parties, and a 400,000-strong closing rally.
CIA report, 6 May 1954: Financial preparations for the Gerwis congress, March 1954
CIA report, 6 May 1954: Trimurti and Dr Thung Sin Nio collecting funds to finance the Gerwis (now Gerwani) congress in Jakarta, 25-31 March 1954, including from Chinese-Indonesian donors. Evidence on congress financing and cross-community support.
Illustrations from Joop Wolff's book on Indonesia: review mentions Gerwis marriage-law struggle
De Waarheid, 23 Jan 1954, p. 6: Annie Averink's review of Joop Wolff's Pegasus book 'Uit het rijk der duizend eilanden', based on a trip to Indonesia after the SOBSI congress of late 1952, with colonial-contrast views of Jakarta and kampongs. It notes that Gerwis, which organises workers' and peasants' wives, leads wom
With the Gerwis congress in sight: Jakarta feature on preparations
De Waarheid, 27 Jan 1954, p. 5: correspondent's Jakarta feature ahead of Gerwis's second congress (opening 26 March 1954), describing its literacy courses, hygiene campaigns, defence of women under customary law, wage struggles (Sampurna cigarette factory Surabaya, Kaliklatak coffee estate) with SARBUPRI, and the mass
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
Dissolution of Jakarta city council requested by nine parties and ten organisations
Aneta item in De Vrije Pers (13 Feb 1954): nine parties and ten organisations, including PKI, PNI, NU, SOBSI, BTI, Wanita Demokrat, Perwari and Gerwis, met under PNI's R. Kartasasmita and urged the government to dissolve the Greater Jakarta municipal council and form a representative one.
Indonesia wants to sell more products in the Soviet Union
De Waarheid, 24 Feb 1954, p. 4: Jakarta report that the Indonesian government wants more sales of Indonesian products in the USSR and trade with people's democracies (Czechoslovakia, Hungary, GDR, Bulgaria); rubber prices rose on a Soviet purchase. A photo note on the Indonesian National Peace Congress (late January) n
Exams (University of Indonesia exam results)
Java-Bode, 25 February 1954, p. 2: list of University of Indonesia (Jakarta) faculty of letters exam results, including propaedeutic Chinese-studies candidate Soelami Mangundidjojo. The name resembles Sulami but the text gives no link to Gerwani; identification is doubtful and the item is otherwise irrelevant.