Introduction to a story on the struggle against polygamy in West Java
De Waarheid, 24 Mar 1954, p. 5: editorial caption introducing a published story about a local victory against polygamy in West Java a few months earlier through united action. It says the issue is also on the agenda at the Gerwis congress that has just begun, attended by Rie Lips-Odinot. The story itself is not part of
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
Indonesian women fought ten years for their rights
Libération, Paris (21 Sep 1954, p.6), badly garbled page with a column '...et les femmes!': after Sukarno's second marriage to a divorcee, a feminist organisation says his private life cannot be separated from the presidency, and that Indonesian women fought ten years for their rights so the marriage is a heavy blow. N
Indonesian women and Sukarno's second marriage
Libération, Paris (21 Sep 1954, p.6), snippet extract: four representatives of Indonesia's women's leagues were received by Sukarno to ask why he took a second wife; 'Indonesian women have fought for ten years for their rights, and the President's second marriage has been a heavy blow for us.'
Parliament on Sukarno's second marriage
Het Parool report (6 Oct 1954, p.108): parliament asks the government to clarify its stand on President Sukarno's second marriage, as the controversy causes the first rift in the year-old PNI-PKI coalition. A woman MP of the socialist fraction submitted the request, and parliament received a petition from women's movem
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
Sukarno, polygamy and Indonesian women
Point de vue (14 Oct 1954, p.9), '7 jours du monde' column: a three-sentence note that Sukarno has two wives and many troubles after marrying Mrs Suwondo (Hartini), whose husband divorced over her relations with the president; Indonesian women disapprove and launched a violent press campaign. Gerwani not named. Other c
Sukarno, polygamy and Indonesian women (extract)
Point de vue (14 Oct 1954, p.9), snippet extract: Sukarno, president of the young Indonesian Republic, has two wives and many troubles; the Koran allows polygamy but Indonesian women view it with disfavour; he is the only polygamous Indonesian leader.
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
Sukarno, the arch-intriguer
Nieuwe Haarlemsche Courant, 6 February 1958, p. 5: long profile of Sukarno by former correspondent C.H. Schaap, calling him an 'arch-intriguer' bent on absolute power, tracing his career to the 1957 cabinet. It mentions that his October 1954 second marriage to Hartini caused general indignation among Indonesian women,
Soviet Woman, 31 Aug 1962: 'We Have Many Common Grounds', interview with Hartini Sukarno
Soviet Woman, 31 Aug 1962, p. 21: interview with Hartini Sukarno during her Moscow visit, on Soviet-Indonesian women's friendship. She says Indonesian women stand shoulder to shoulder with men in the West Irian struggle, joining military training and the Volunteer Corps, and thanks the USSR for support. Also an unrelat
Over 300 foreign guests come to Beijing to celebrate National Day (Renmin Ribao, 1 October 1962)
Renmin Ribao, 1 Oct 1962, p. 4 (Xinhua): list of over 300 foreign guests arriving in Beijing for China's 13th National Day, headed by Hartini Sukarno and including W.E.B. Du Bois. Indonesian entries include a BTI delegation, Pemuda Rakjat, student leaders and an army colonel; Mrs Sudarso is named as Gerwani's represent
Over 300 foreign guests come to Beijing to celebrate National Day (Renmin Ribao, 1 October 1962)
Renmin Ribao, 1 Oct 1962, p. 4 (Xinhua): list of over 300 foreign guests arriving in Beijing for China's 13th National Day, headed by Hartini Sukarno and including W.E.B. Du Bois. Indonesian entries include a BTI delegation, Pemuda Rakjat, student leaders and an army colonel; Mrs Sudarso is named as Gerwani's represent
Straits Times, 15 Sep 1966: students open new assault on Hartini
Straits Times, 15 Sep 1966 (lead only). The Bandung and Jakarta chapters of the Indonesian Action Front (KAMI) demanded that President Sukarno resign and answer before a special military tribunal, with an attack on Hartini. Matched on Gerwani; lead does not mention it.
Still three wives
Brief Amigoe di Curaçao item, 17 Sept 1966, on Sukarno's wives. It states Hartini, his 42-year-old second wife, is a 'leading member' of Gerwani, which was banned after the failed coup. Also recalls Mochtar Lubis's 1957 imprisonment for criticising the marriage. Claim of Hartini's Gerwani leadership is made without evi
Students Demand Trial for Mrs Hartini Sukarno (Press, Christchurch, 8 October 1966), photograph clipping
Photograph-only clipping from the Press (Christchurch), 8 Oct 1966: demonstrators with banners and flags in Jakarta, one banner partly legible; illustrates the students' demand to try Hartini Sukarno for patronage of Gerwani. No caption text in this clipping.
Berita Harian, 7 Oct 1968: Hartini not detained
Berita Harian, 7 Oct 1968 (Reuters, lead only). Presidential secretary Col. Sutikno denied that Hartini, Sukarno's second wife, had been detained or recently questioned; the last interrogation was about 18 months earlier. Matched on Gerwani though lead does not mention it.
Eastern Sun, 7 Oct 1968: Hartini not detained, says Sutikno
Eastern Sun, 7 Oct 1968 (Reuters, lead only). Presidential secretary Col. Sutikno denied that Hartini, Sukarno's second wife, was detained or recently interrogated; the last questioning was about 18 months earlier. Matched on Gerwani though the lead does not mention it.
Mrs Hartini not under arrest
Amigoe di Curaçao, 9 Oct 1968: presidential secretary Colonel Soetikno denies that Hartini, Sukarno's second wife, has been imprisoned or recently questioned; she was last interrogated a year and a half earlier on suspicion of membership of the banned Gerwani.
Berita Yudha, 9 November 1994: White Book on G30S (part 26)
Berita Yudha, 9 Nov 1994, p. 4: White Book instalment on Central Java and Yogyakarta, naming Gerwani among PKI mass organisations issuing a support resolution in Wonogiri on 1 Oct 1965; editorial honours Fatmawati.
Women's Movements in Indonesia through the Ages (Muhadjir Darwin, 2004)
Muhadjir Darwin's survey (March 2004) of Indonesian women's movements from precolonial heroines through the 1928 Women's Congress, Fujinkai, Kowani and the Sukarno-era polygamy campaign against Hartini, to the New Order. Short historical overview.
Tempo, 18 April 2016: Onward the women's movement
Tempo editorial note (18 Apr 2016), recalling a 1978 Kartini Day feature on the women's movement from Aceh 1614 to the 1970s. It describes Kowani's formation (1946), Perwari's protest over Sukarno's 1954 marriage to Hartini, Perwari being squeezed as Gerwani, 'affiliated with the PKI', gained influence, and Gerwani ste