Gerwis International Children's Day: no central committee
Java-Bode, 26 May 1952, p. 2: Gerwis announces it will celebrate International Children's Day on 1 June with other organisations but form no central committee this year, leaving it to branches; the Jakarta children's week was an experiment approved at the Kongres Wanita Indonesia conference.
Sukarno urges communist to support transfer of New Guinea; Mrs Lips-Odinot, interpreter of 'peaceful' Netherlands
Algemeen Handelsblad (1954-04-05): President Sukarno received participants of the Gerwani congress; Dutch communist MP Rie Lips-Odinot conveyed the sympathy of the 'peace-loving part of the Dutch people'. Sukarno replied that good relations require return of New Guinea, and she endorsed Indonesia's claim. The paper cal
Untruthful communist business: Gerwani congress in Jakarta
De Maasbode, 5 Apr 1954: Sukarno receives at the palace women attending the Gerwani congress in Jakarta (described as a continuation of the communist Gerwis). The Dutch communist MP Mrs Lips-Odinot conveys the 'peace-loving' Dutch people's support; Sukarno says New Guinea is the main barrier to good relations. Shows Ge
Sukarno hopes for a communist Netherlands (Gerwani congress received by Sukarno)
Eindhovensch Dagblad front-page report (5 Apr 1954) that President Sukarno received delegates of a congress in Jakarta of 'Gewani' (a continuation of communist Gerwis). Dutch communist MP Rie Lips-Odinot expressed support for Indonesia's national struggle; Sukarno answered that good relations require resolving New Guin
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
Sukarno addresses 'peace-loving Netherlands'
Leeuwarder Courant, 5 April 1954, p. 2: Dutch regional paper reports Sukarno receiving participants of Gerwani's Jakarta congress (Gerwani called a communist Gerwis continuation). Communist MP Rie Lips-Odinot voiced Dutch peace-lovers' sympathy; Sukarno said no good relations are possible until New Guinea is returned,
Communist MP spoke on New Guinea: reception with Sukarno
Twentsch Dagblad Tubantia (5 Apr 1954): President Sukarno receives participants of a Gerwani congress (described as continuing the communist Gerwis). Dutch CPN MP Rie Lips-Odinot conveys sympathy of the 'peace-loving part of the Dutch people' for Indonesia's New Guinea claim; Sukarno answers that no good relationship i
Foolish business in Jakarta (Gerwani congress 1954)
Gazet van Limburg editorial item (6 Apr 1954, p.1) disapproving that communist MP Rie Lips-Odinot, vice-chair of the Dutch communist women's movement, attends the Jakarta congress of 'Gewani' (Gerwani) and speaks for the 'peace-loving part' of the Dutch people supporting Indonesia's claim to New Guinea. It also objects
Men and women must build the state together
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 14 Apr 1954, p. 3: President Sukarno receives Gerwani delegates after their five-day congress in Jakarta, saying women's problems are solved by a just state built by men and women together. Dutch MP Rie Lips-Odinot raises West Irian; WIDF vice-president Monica Felton lectures; Australia
Impressive ceremony on the invasion beach (with item on Gerwani and the Union)
Het Vaderland front page (8 Jun 1954) opening with Dutch resistance veterans' wreath-laying at the Normandy invasion beaches, followed by Indonesian news. A short passage 'Indon. comm. women and the Union' says the Indonesian feminist movement Gerwani, recently hostess to delegations of communist women from Russia and
Java-Bode 30 Nov 1954, page: Gerwani congress (whole page)
Whole-page OCR of Java-Bode, 30 November 1954, p. 2. The only Gerwani item is the Bandung branch congress: sympathy for Maisuri (forced marriage victim), call to abolish forced marriage, ban modern dances and immoral films, and support for the Ali-Arifin cabinet. Other articles cover West Irian at the UN, the Chinese a
Gerwani congress (newspaper page, early December 1954)
Whole newspaper page, Indische Courant voor Nederland, c. 1-4 Dec 1954 (columns interleaved). Gerwani-relevant item: Bandung branch congress backs Maisuri, opposes forced marriage and 'immoral' films, supports the Ali cabinet. Other articles: PRN women's congress, no-confidence motion, West Irian at the UN, Bogor confe
Mme Suharti, president of the Indonesian Women's Movement; Sukarno and polygamy
La Presse (17 May 1955, p.10): feature on a Muslim feminist campaign against polygamy, starting with the Pakistani PM Mohamed Ali's second marriage and spreading to Java. Says Fatmawati Sukarno was recruited and that Hartini was pregnant during the Bandung Conference. A snippet names Mme Suharti, president of the 'very
Mme Suharti, president of the Indonesian Women's Movement; Sukarno and polygamy (extract)
La Presse (17 May 1955, p.10), snippet extract of the polygamy feature: unrest in Indonesia over Sukarno's marriage to Hartini, in which Mme Suharti, president of the 'very communist-leaning' Indonesian Women's Movement (Gerwani), took advantage; Hartini's pregnancy surfaced as the Bandung Conference drew attention.
Preparation of election details
Java-Bode, 8 September 1955, p. 2: news column. The Gerwani branch Djomblang (Jombang) formed a committee to run a child day-care centre during the elections so mothers can vote calmly. Other items concern Surabaya mobilising students as polling-station order helpers and Colonel Simbolon's visit to Sukarno.
First Lady
Short Algemeen Indisch Dagblad item 'First Lady' (1955-12-31, p. 1): Perwari chair Mrs. Kartowijono says any socially acceptable woman can be First Lady and urges a marriage law quickly. Muslimat (Masyumi) and Gerwani are still deliberating on the question and could not yet comment, in the context of the Sukarno marria
Gerwani and Mrs Fatmawati: statement on a private divorce matter
De Nieuwsgier item (5 Jan 1956) on a Gerwani statement about Fatmawati Sukarno's divorce request: Gerwani calls it a private matter, defends free democratic marriage, regrets that certain parties exploited it to undermine national unity and the president's name, and uses it to demand a democratic marriage law.
Gerwani chair: a political background to Fatmawati's divorce request?
Java-Bode, 5 January 1956, p. 2: Gerwani general chair Umi Sardjono tells the press Gerwani regrets that certain groups have systematically pressed Fatmawati Sukarno to seek divorce, serving colonial aims of splitting national unity and besmirching the president. She calls the divorce a private matter and says Gerwani
Java-Bode 5 Jan 1956, page: Gerwani chair on Fatmawati's divorce request (whole page)
Whole-page OCR of Java-Bode, 5 January 1956, p. 2. Gerwani-relevant is Umi Sardjono's statement on Fatmawati's divorce request, urging a democratic marriage law, plus press reports on Fatmawati, Hartini and women leaders' reactions to a president with two wives. Other articles (Colonel Lubis on security, Ceramese ex-KN
A political background to Fatmawati's divorce request?
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 14 Jan 1956, p. 1: Gerwani chair Umi Sardjono tells the press that groups are pressing Fatmawati Sukarno to seek divorce for political ends, calls it a private matter, upholds marriage without compulsion and demands a democratic marriage law. Also repeats press reports on Fatmawati, Har
Gerwani member Sansia arrested during Dulles visit to Jakarta (Kankakee Daily Journal, 12 March 1956)
Full 20-page issue of the Kankakee Daily Journal (Illinois), 12 March 1956. Front-page AP/UP report on US Secretary of State Dulles's visit to Jakarta (talks with Sukarno) says police arrested a woman named Sansia, who said she was a member of Gerwani, 'a leftist women's organization founded in 1954', over a banner pro
America offers Jakarta economic aid - Dulles in Indonesia
Arnhemsche Courant, 13 Mar 1956 (UP-Reuters): John Foster Dulles visits Sukarno in Jakarta and informally offers economic aid. A young woman of Gerwani among about two dozen protesters shouting 'Abolish SEATO' threw a piece of paper at his car and was detained for questioning.
Economic aid offered to Indonesia (Dulles in Jakarta)
Nieuwe Tilburgsche Courant, 13 March 1956: report on US Secretary of State Dulles's visit to Jakarta, where about two dozen demonstrators shouted 'Abolish SEATO' and a young woman of the left-leaning Gerwani threw a paper at his car and was detained for questioning. Dulles also met Sukarno, discussed New Guinea and off
High Commissioner absent at Dulles's arrival
Nieuwsblad van het Zuiden, 13 March 1956: report on Dulles's arrival in Jakarta (no Dutch high commissioner present), his statement, and an airport incident in which a young Gerwani woman threw a paper at his car and was detained. Also Sukarno's accepted invitation to the US and discussion of New Guinea and economic ai
Dulles in Indonesia: America offers Jakarta economic aid
Nijmeegsch Dagblad (13 Mar 1956) on John Foster Dulles's brief Jakarta visit and offer of economic aid. A young woman belonging to Gerwani, among about two dozen demonstrators shouting 'Abolish SEATO', threw a piece of paper at his car and was detained for questioning.
Mrs Fatmawati Sukarno
Java-Bode, 14 August 1956, p. 2: Fatmawati Sukarno arrives in Surabaya after visiting her mother-in-law in Blitar with daughters Megawati and Sukmawati, calling it a family visit. Representatives of Gerwani's Surabaya branch handed her a resolution raising the Atamimi question; she did not answer whether she would go w
'One-man factions' in parliament disappointed
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad political roundup (1957-03-02, p. 2) on Sukarno's 'conception' of gotong-royong cabinet: one-man MP factions complain of exclusion, Nasution meets Sukarno, PNI Surabaya rallies, Natsir attacks the plan. An 'Adhesion' item says declarations of support came from the youth council DPI, Gerwani Ban
Jakarta sets up National Council: Sukarno names members (New York Times, 16 June 1957)
New York Times, 16 June 1957, p.37, Special to the Times from Jakarta: Sukarno names the 45 members of the new National Council (Dewan Nasional), chaired by himself, with Roeslan Abdulgani as deputy chairman and secretary-general. About a quarter are described as Communists or sympathisers, including PKI member Sujono
General debates on normalisation of the country's situation
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1957-09-28, p. 2): continuation of the parliamentary debate on normalisation after the national conference, with seven speakers. Mrs. Umi Sardjono (Pembangunan) calls the result a positive principle showing the government's authority, but doubts it can be realised while arbitrary arrests and b