Yesterday's day...
Nieuwe Vlaardingsche Courant, 5 March 1947: Dutch commentary column on the Indies and Palestine. In one line, 'the Indonesian women's organisation' at talks in Malang is said to consider cooperation with the Dutch impossible after Linggadjati. The organisation is not named and cannot be identified as Gerwis (founded 19
CIA information report, 19 July 1949: Dunia Wanita
CIA information report, 19 July 1949, saying Ani Idrus, labelled a pro-Republican Communist from Medan, would publish the fortnightly Dunia Wanita. Early sign of US intelligence watching women's press; the Communist label is probably a misclassification.
FBIS, 25 January 1951: Indonesia backs Peace Congress ideals (Warsaw)
FBIS-monitored Moscow Radio text (25 Jan 1951) of a speech by an Indonesian member of the World Peace Council (name garbled), chairing the Indonesian delegation to the Warsaw Peace Congress. Describes the Indonesian Peace Committee (Yogyakarta, June 1950), the Stockholm Appeal signatures, and urges non-democratic Indon
Merdeka, 4 September 1951: Trimurti surveys the women's movements
Merdeka, 4 September 1951 (hlm. 2): 'Trimurti tindjau gerakan2 wanita': Gerwis vice-chair S.K. Trimurti, touring Sumatra since 27 July 1951 with her secretary, criticises urban women's organisations in Medan as weak and ceremonial.
Mrs Salawati Daud reports on meeting with Kahar Muzakar (Harian Rakjat, 10 April 1952)
Harian Rakjat, 10 Apr 1952, p.4 (Antara, Makassar 9 April): Nyonya Salawati Daud's report after meeting rebel leader Kahar Muzakar in the mountains is receiving government attention; Kahar's demands are said to disappoint the governor and cannot be met. The issue also reports a Gerwis role in the national child-defence
Protest (women's organisations protest in Medan)
Java-Bode, 24 February 1954, p. 2: Medan women's organisations, including Perwari, PPNI, Wanita Rakjat, Ikatan Wanita Rakjat and Gerwis, protested to the resident that women have no seat on the North Sumatra election committee and demanded revision. The resident promised to forward it to the Minister of Justice.
Election committee (North Sumatra)
Indische Courant voor Nederland, 3 Mar 1954, p. 3: composition of the North Sumatra election committee announced; women's organisations in Medan including Perwari, Wanita Rakjat, Ikatan Wanita Rakjat and Gerwis protest to the resident that women are not represented and demand revision.
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
Gerwani congress: forced marriages must be abolished in modern Indonesia
Algemeen Indisch Dagblad (1954-11-30, p. 2): two-day congress of Gerwani's Bandung branch ('formerly Gerwis') sends sympathy to Maisoeri, a sixteen-year-old in South Sumatra jailed for refusing a forced marriage to a sixty-year-old, and calls for abolishing forced marriages. It also demands bans on 'modern dances' and
Biography of Mrs Mudigdio (Siti Aminah), Harian Rakjat 8 Sep 1955, in US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey
US State Department Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (HathiTrust, vol. no. 11-21), p. 40, translating Harian Rakjat's 8 Sep 1955 biographies of PKI parliamentary candidates. Mrs Mudigdio (Siti Aminah Nahsjam Marah Umar), born Medan 1904, active in women's organisations from age 14, in Pertindo 1931-34, MP since 1945, an
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1957): Gerwani leaders and branches, Umi Sardjono chair
US Monthly Indonesian Press Survey (1957) extracts: a Central Borneo women's committee, including Gerwani, backing Sukarno's Concept and asking that marriage law be prioritised; Kowani's Fourth Congress (Surabaya) with Mudigdio of Gerwani as treasurer; Muljani as Central Java Gerwani chair; new North Sumatra and Jakart
Dolgozó Nő, 24 Jan 1964: from Indonesia (Kowani 35th anniversary)
Dolgozó Nő, 24 Jan 1964. Travel report by Czechoslovak delegate Mária Brencicová on the 21 Dec 1963 festive session of Kowani in Jakarta, marking 35 years of the unified women's movement and 25 years of Mothers' Day, with Sukarno present. Describes Kowani (40 organisations), poverty, and women's patriotic tasks. Gerwan
Straits Times, 14 Dec 1964: communist women's organisation demonstrates in Medan
Straits Times, 14 Dec 1964 (lead only). A communist women's organisation, Gerwani, held a demonstration against the government in Medan, North Sumatra, the previous Wednesday, urging lower prices of common goods; Antara reported 'hundreds' of members took part.
Mysterious poet and supporter of children's literature: Sugiarti Siswadi (Tempo, 1 May 2021)
Tempo article, 1 May 2021, by Isma Savitri and Hardian Putra Pratama, on Lekra writer Sugiarti Siswadi: Lekra central leadership member from 1959, children's-literature advocate, author of the banned Sorga Dibumi, and editor of Api Kartini. Researchers cannot trace her life; one suspects she was jailed in Semarang in 1
Red Nanyang: Chinese-Language Literature of Indonesia, 1945-1965 (Borgonjon, 2025)
Columbia PhD dissertation (2025) by David Borgonjon, the first full-length study of Chinese-language (yinhua) literature in Indonesia 1945-65, set within Sino-Indonesian friendship, Afro-Asian translation and Guided Democracy-era debates on labour and schooling. Gerwani is barely present: a glossary entry gives Gerwani