Harian Rakjat, 7 July 1952: Mrs Mudigdio on attorney-general's secret circular; Wanita Demokrat rejects PP 19
Harian Rakjat, Jakarta, 7 July 1952 (full issue; pp. 2, 4 relevant). Ny. Mudigdo (Mudigdio), MP, questions the government about a secret Attorney-General circular of 1 February 1952 ordering tough action against 'press crimes'. P. 4 prints a resolution of Wanita Demokrat Indonesia opposing Government Regulation 19/1952
Umi Sardjono: 'Regulation no. 19 is still unjust' (Harian Rakjat, 23 July 1952)
Harian Rakjat, Jakarta, 23 July 1952 (full issue; p. 3 relevant). Article by Umi Sardjono on Government Regulation 19/1952 (widows' pensions): nearly all women's organisations object, some demanding repeal, others accepting pensions but opposing polygamy. She says the rules in effect encourage polygamy, and recalls tha
Women with Minister Suroso on Government Regulation 19
De Nieuwsgier, 28 Aug 1952: Minister Suroso meets representatives of about a dozen women's organisations, including Gerwis, Wanita Demokrat Indonesia, Muslimat and PPI, about Government Regulation 19 on pensions for civil servants' widows (with plural wives). Several associations urge withdrawal. Shows Gerwis among the
Action against widows' pensions continues
De Locomotief, 14 Oct 1952, city news: a Semarang meeting of the committee rejecting Government Regulation 19/52 on widows' pensions for civil servants with multiple wives draws great interest from women's organisations. Twelve bodies including SOBSI, Lekra, Pemuda Rakjat and Gerwis reject the law and decide to continu
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.
Lectures by Gerwani Semarang on women's rights and Regulation 19
De Locomotief, 30 Nov 1955: Gerwani Semarang held an evening of lectures by board members on women's rights and the inequality kept in force by Government Regulation 19 (1952 pensions for plural wives). Speakers recalled the organisation's help in vote counting and childcare centres during the elections. Text partly ga
Berliner Zeitung, 27 May 1956, p. 6: In June in Budapest ...
Berliner Zeitung, 27 May 1956, p. 6: women's column item "Im Juni wird in Budapest ..." ahead of the World Congress of Working Women. One short paragraph reports that the Indonesian women's organisation GERWANI demands a ban on child marriage, forced marriage and bride-purchase, an end to the ban on widows remarrying,
A heavy blow to the women's movement (Historia, 2018)
Historia article (2018) on the 1953 women's campaign against Government Regulation 19/1952 giving civil-service pensions to all widows of polygynous officials, including the 17 Dec 1953 mass meeting at Deca Park attended by Gerwani and others. Context on the anti-polygamy movement.
Marriages between political prisoners' wives and army officers (Kochi Kaoru, 2025)
Kochi Kaoru's 2025 article using second-hand-market documents to show that wives and widows of leftist men, including former Gerwani members, married or became concubines of officers and soldiers, and the army banned the practice; also covers 'bersih diri' certificates and disenfranchisement.