Potentials of World Communism: Women's International Democratic Federation (OIR report, 1949)
OSS/State Department intelligence report (1 Aug 1949) on the Women's International Democratic Federation as a communist front: origins in the Soviet Anti-Fascist Committee of Women, 1945 Paris founding, leaders (Cotton, Popova, Ibarruri, Cai Chang), membership claims and Asia activities. Indonesia is mentioned only in
WIDF pamphlet (Berlin, Dec 1952) surveying women's political rights, wages, unemployment, education, rural conditions and social protection country by country, and issuing the Call to the World Congress of Women (Denmark, June 1953). Indonesia appears briefly: equal rights on paper under the 1950 Constitution, no elect
WIDF Executive message 1952: Congress of the Peoples for Peace, Vienna
WIDF Executive Committee message (1952) calling women worldwide to prepare for the Congress of the Peoples for Peace, Vienna, 5 December 1952, and to demand an end to the Korean war, arms reduction, banning of atomic and bacteriological weapons, and a Pact of Peace. Signatories include Eugénie Cotton and others; Darmin
Literaturnaia Gazeta, 10 Jun 1952: World Peace Council Bureau statement (Suwarti signs)
Front page of Literaturnaia Gazeta, 10 June 1952, carrying a World Peace Council Bureau statement defending the French peace movement. Signatories include 'Mrs. Suwarti (Indonesia), member of parliament' (Gerwis/Gerwani leader Suwarti), alongside Joliot-Curie, Eugenie Cotton (WIDF), Brecht and Neruda. Also notes the Pe
Pravda, 22 Jul 1952: WIDF executive committee session, Bucharest
Pravda p. 3, 22 July 1952: TASS reports from the 13th session of the WIDF executive committee in Bucharest and a mass women's meeting addressed by Eugenie Cotton. Darmini (Indonesia) is listed among debaters on Carmen Santi's report on child defence; national committees reportedly formed in Indonesia. Content of Darmin
As One! For Equality, For Happiness, For Peace: World Congress of Women, Copenhagen 1953
Report volume (WIDF, Berlin, 1953) on the World Congress of Women, Copenhagen, 5-10 June 1953: reports, speeches, documents, resolutions and the officers elected. Gerwani and Gerwis are not named. Indonesia appears in the congress report (p. 4), which says its 10 delegates and observers came from six organisations, one
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,
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
WIDF pamphlet 'I Want To Live' (Berlin, May 1954) campaigning to ban atomic weapons after the March 1954 Bikini H-bomb test, with Hiroshima testimonies, the Stockholm Appeal and WIDF appeals. Page 25 cites a resolution of 1 April 1954 in Jakarta by the National Congress of the 'Indonesian Women's Democratic Organisatio
WIDF 1954 article compiling women's campaigns against atomic and hydrogen bombs after Bikini, with excerpts from Eugénie Cotton and the WIDF Executive appeal (Geneva). Countries covered include Britain, US, Japan, Germany, India; the Indonesia entry apparently refers to a national women's congress of 349 delegates dema
WIDF commemorative booklet (Berlin, 1955) for its tenth anniversary: history from the 1945 Paris founding congress, peace and anti-atom campaigns, the 1953 Copenhagen Congress, children's work, the 1955 Lausanne World Congress of Mothers. Page 28 states that in Indonesia 'the women's organization which had 6,000 member
Keynotes of the Council Meeting: Unity and Confidence (Bertrand, 1955)
Simone Bertrand, WIDF Assistant General Secretary, reports in 1955 on the Fifth WIDF Council meeting in Geneva (45 countries). She cites GERWANI as a remarkable example: mostly peasant and plantation women, membership up from 80,000 to 281,000 in a year, and with nine organisations it formed a committee opposing a US b
Neues Deutschland, 7 Jul 1955, p. 5: Peace and happiness for the children of all mothers
Neues Deutschland, 7 July 1955, p. 5: article 'Frieden und Glück für die Kinder aller Mütter' (signed E. T.) on the opening of the World Congress of Mothers in Lausanne. Indonesia appears only once, in a list of countries where preparatory committees were formed. No Indonesian women, Gerwani or other named Indonesians
Neues Deutschland, 3 Dec 1955, p. 1: Women's rights inviolable
Neues Deutschland, 3 December 1955, p. 1. ADN report 'Rechte der Frauen unantastbar' on the festive rally for the 10th anniversary of the IDFF (WIDF) in the Deutsche Sporthalle, Berlin, with 3,000 women. Indonesia appears only in a list of countries whose WIDF representatives attended; no Indonesian is named and Gerwan
WIDF Council (Peking, 24-30 April 1956) 'Appeal to the Women of Asia and Africa', with a side item on a European girls' conference in Paris. The appeal salutes anticolonial struggles, welcomes the Bandung principles, and opposes the Baghdad and SEATO pacts and nuclear tests. Indonesia and Gerwani are not named.
FBIS, 7 March 1956: Greetings messages (International Women's Day, Peking)
FBIS-monitored Xinhua report (7 Mar 1956): a Peking women's rally on the eve of International Women's Day sent greetings to WIDF; the All-China Democratic Women's Federation sent messages to women's groups across Asia and Africa. Includes a message to Wanita Indonesia (Indonesian Women's Congress and the Indonesian Wom
Opening of WIDF Council meeting in Beijing; growth of Indonesian women's movement (Renmin Ribao, 25 April 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 25 Apr 1956 (p. 4), descriptive report on the opening (24 Apr) of the WIDF Council meeting in Beijing: Presidents Mrs Gordon and Cai Chang, Deng Yingchao welcoming Egyptian, Israeli and Indonesian delegates, and Angiola Minella's report on peace, nuclear tests and Asian-African women after Bandung. It cla
Opening of WIDF Council meeting in Beijing; growth of Indonesian women's movement (Renmin Ribao, 25 April 1956)
Renmin Ribao, 25 Apr 1956 (p. 4), descriptive report on the opening (24 Apr) of the WIDF Council meeting in Beijing: Presidents Mrs Gordon and Cai Chang, Deng Yingchao welcoming Egyptian, Israeli and Indonesian delegates, and Angiola Minella's report on peace, nuclear tests and Asian-African women after Bandung. It cla
WIDF magazine 1957 report on the WIDF Council meeting in Helsinki, 22-27 June 1957: Finnish hospitality, Palace of Culture built by volunteer labour, reports by Eugénie Cotton, Branca Fialho, Molly Keith and Elisa Uriz, a new draft constitution and call to the Fourth Congress, and resolution on nuclear tests and women'
Neues Deutschland, 25 Jun 1957, p. 5: Women prepare the World Congress
Neues Deutschland, 25 June 1957, p. 5: ADN/ND report 'Frauen bereiten Weltkongreß vor' on the WIDF council session in Helsinki (270 delegates, 46 countries; president Eugénie Cotton). Indonesia appears once: women from Indonesia and other countries reported on their work, difficulties and successes. No name is given an
Documents of the 4th WIDF Congress, Vienna, 1-5 June 1958
Document pack of the WIDF Fourth Congress, Vienna, 1-5 June 1958: Eugenie Cotton's report on women's role, the Manifesto, resolutions on peace, women's rights and children, appeals to the UN, credentials report and constitution. Indonesia appears in passing: Cotton credits 'the Indonesian Women's Movement' with improvi
Getting to Know the WIDF Up Close
Api Kartini preview of the WIDF Bureau meeting due in Indonesia (early 1960), profiling its leaders: President Eugenie Cotton, Secretary-General Carmen Zanti, Marie Ange, Beatrice Johnson and Asian-African vice-presidents. Notes WIDF's support for Indonesian independence and condemnation of Dutch aggression, and that G
The World's Women's Contribution to Their Era (Sulami)
Article by Sulami (1959) reporting on the WIDF Bureau meeting in Prague, chaired by Eugenie Cotton, and the Council with 51 countries. It stresses women's duty to protect children, supports disarmament and Soviet-US talks, backs the 50th anniversary of International Women's Day, and links peace to Indonesian national i
WIDF at 15: Fighting for Family Happiness and World Peace
Api Kartini article (1960) by Maasje Siwi, an Api Kartini staff member who attended the WIDF Council in Warsaw (29 Nov-5 Dec 1960), marking the WIDF's 15th anniversary. Delegates from 61 countries heard Eugenie Cotton review WIDF history (1948 manifesto, 1953 Copenhagen congress, 1955 Lausanne mothers' congress, 1958 V
WIDF World Gathering of Women for Disarmament, Vienna 1962: participants list
WIDF proceedings of the World Gathering of Women for Disarmament, Vienna, 23-25 March 1962 (300 women, 59 countries): Eugenie Cotton's introductory report, adopted appeals, and a list of participants. The Asia section lists two delegates 'representing the Indonesian Women's Movement (GERWANI)': Mrs Ana Abdulrachman and
World Congress of Women, Moscow, June 1963
WIDF publication on the World Congress of Women, Moscow, 24-29 June 1963 (1,543 women, 113 countries): reports, speeches, resolutions and the new WIDF council list. Gerwani is mentioned briefly: its roughly 1,000 day nurseries for working mothers are cited as a model; its role in the West Irian campaign is praised; and
Moscow News, 29 Jun 1963: WIDF World Congress of Women, Moscow
Moscow News (English), 29 June 1963, p. 6: report on the WIDF World Congress of Women in Moscow (June 1963), with abridged report by President Eugenie Cotton and sessions on peace, colonialism, children's welfare and women's rights. Umi Sardjono (Indonesia), WIDF Vice-President and Gerwani chair, read greetings from J.
Soviet Woman, 31 Jul 1963: WIDF programme and elected leaders (Moscow Congress)
Soviet Woman, 31 Jul 1963, p. 44: WIDF programme adopted at its 1963 Moscow World Congress of Women, with an issue preview and the list of elected leaders. Eugenie Cotton re-elected president. Umi Sardjono (Indonesia) is named among Bureau members, with Freda Brown (Australia), Vilma Espin and others.
Soviet Woman, 30 Sep 1963: 'A German Peace Treaty' and delegates' reports on the World Congress of Women
Soviet Woman, 30 Sep 1963, pp. 6-8: delegates' reports on the June 1963 World Congress of Women in Moscow: Fuki Kushida (Japan) on Tereshkova and the congress, Lotte Ulbricht (GDR) on a German peace treaty, Gondo Kikue on 'stitches for peace' banners, and Thamina Salam Adel's testimony on Ba'ath terror in Iraq. Umi Sar