1954 – 2023
Het Nieuwsblad voor Sumatra (24 Jun 1954, p.1): the Jakarta cooperation committee of about thirty parties and organisations, including PNI, PKI, Partai Buruh, Pemuda Rakjat, Gerwani, SOBSI, BTI and Wanita Rakjat, issued a joint declaration demanding immediate abolition of the Indonesian-Dutch Union, blaming Dutch imper
Api Kartini (Aug-Sept 1960) report on the 15th anniversary of the August Revolution: summarises Sukarno's 17 August address to the DPR-GR plenary and speech (Manipol-USDEK, unity of Nasakom groups, landreform, retooling, firm line on Irian Barat). Also prints editorial replies to readers in Lombok and Central Java. Con
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio text (27 Mar 1960) of Presidential Decision No. 34 of 1960 appointing the Preparatory Committee for the National Front, with Sukarno's installation speech. Among functional-group members are Mrs Supeni and Mrs Umi Sardjono (Gerwani leader), alongside D.N. Aidit in the political group; Arudj
Compilation of US embassy Djakarta despatches (April 1960) giving biographical profiles of members of the Supreme Advisory Council and other leaders. Gerwani appears in the profile of PSII chairman Arudji Kartawinata, whose wife was a Gerwani member (1954) and praised China after a Nov 1959 Beijing visit; women members
Government reference almanac issued by the Department of Information (Departemen Penerangan), June 1961, on the institutions of Guided Democracy: MPRS, DPR-GR, DPAS, Depernas, Bapekan, Front Nasional and recognised parties, with decrees, membership lists and party statutes. Gerwani appears only once, as the women's del
US Embassy Djakarta despatches, Oct 1961: transmittal of the July 1961 war-administrator regulation on international friendship societies, and the report 'Role of Women in Indonesia: Women's Organizations' with a memorandum of conversation with Maria Ulfah Santoso (8 March 1961) and biographic notes. It describes Gerwa
Renmin Ribao, 30 Dec 1961, p. 3 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Sukarno takes the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the West Irian operation and orders National Front registration of volunteers aged 18-40 of either sex. Railway workers pledge 60,000 volunteers; Gerwani, 'the most influential women's organisation', calls on all
Renmin Ribao, 30 Dec 1961, p. 3 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Sukarno takes the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the West Irian operation and orders National Front registration of volunteers aged 18-40 of either sex. Railway workers pledge 60,000 volunteers; Gerwani, 'the most influential women's organisation', calls on all
Api Kartini (early 1962) editorial 'General Mobilisation' on the Irian Barat campaign after Sukarno's Trikora. Quotes Hurustiati Subandrio's radio appeal for all Indonesians, men and women, to mobilise and fight rice shortages; describes volunteer registration, women students' military training, and Dutch brutality (ev
Api Kartini report on the registration of volunteers for the Irian Barat liberation (Trikora) at the National Front building, 17 January 1962. A Gerwani delegation led by Hurustiati Subandrio, with Aruji Kartawinata and others, declared readiness for training and handed in the list of women volunteers to Secretary-Gene
Renmin Ribao, 15 Sep 1962, p. 4: round-up of world solidarity with Cuba against threatened US intervention (Albania, WFDY, US Fair Play for Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico). The Jakarta item says Gerwani, in the name of over one million members, telegraphed the US government protesting aggression on Cuba, and c
Renmin Ribao, 15 Sep 1962, p. 4: round-up of world solidarity with Cuba against threatened US intervention (Albania, WFDY, US Fair Play for Cuba, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico). The Jakarta item says Gerwani, in the name of over one million members, telegraphed the US government protesting aggression on Cuba, and c
Api Kartini (1963) report by Ratna on the Gerwani DPP Plenary held in Jakarta, 6-10 January 1963, a year after the 4th Congress. Umi Sardjono's general report praised the Irian Barat victory and the end of the state of emergency (1 May 1963), and the plenary resolved to strengthen the Nasakom-based national front, supp
Renmin Ribao, 21 Apr 1963, p. 2 (Xinhua, Jakarta): at the State Palace Sukarno presents gifts to Liu Shaoqi and Chen Yi before the farewell banquet; delegates of Indonesian organisations (Pemuda Rakjat, BTI, PKI, SOBSI, Baperki, Gerwani, Perwari and others) also present gifts, including a West Irian bird of paradise. G
Renmin Ribao, 21 Apr 1963, p. 2 (Xinhua, Jakarta): at the State Palace Sukarno presents gifts to Liu Shaoqi and Chen Yi before the farewell banquet; delegates of Indonesian organisations (Pemuda Rakjat, BTI, PKI, SOBSI, Baperki, Gerwani, Perwari and others) also present gifts, including a West Irian bird of paradise. G
Renmin Ribao, 21 May 1963, p. 3 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Indonesian parties and mass organisations condemn the May 1963 anti-Chinese riots in Cirebon, Tegal, Bandung and Bogor as counter-revolutionary and link them to Malaysia and the US Peace Corps. Gerwani's Central Committee calls the Bandung incidents despicable acts vio
Renmin Ribao, 21 May 1963, p. 3 (Xinhua, Jakarta): Indonesian parties and mass organisations condemn the May 1963 anti-Chinese riots in Cirebon, Tegal, Bandung and Bogor as counter-revolutionary and link them to Malaysia and the US Peace Corps. Gerwani's Central Committee calls the Bandung incidents despicable acts vio
Full Renmin Ribao text (5 Sept 1963, p. 3) of D.N. Aidit's 4 September Beijing rally report on the Indonesian revolution and PKI: semi-colonial, semi-feudal analysis, national united front, Nasakom, state power's 'two aspects', and party building. Gerwani appears only once, in a membership tally (1.5 million, alongside
Full text (Renmin Ribao, 14 Sept 1963, p. 3, via Xinhua/KCNA) of D.N. Aidit's 11 September speech at a Pyongyang welcome rally: praise of North Korea, an outline of the Indonesian revolution, Nasakom, West Irian, the anti-US line and attacks on 'modern revisionism'. Gerwani appears once in the tally of PKI-aligned orga
Umi Sardjono's General Report as DPP Gerwani chair to the 3rd DPP Plenary (Bandung, early 1964; transcribed by Nathanael Pribady). Reviews 1963: Irian Barat, 'Crush Malaysia' confrontation, the 26 May economic regulations, 1,378 TK Melati kindergartens, the WIDF Moscow Congress (Gerwani rejected the programme, attacked
Api Kartini (Aug-Sept 1964) report on women's participation in 17 August 1964 celebrations inspired by Sukarno's 'Tavip' speech (Year of Living Dangerously). Describes the Gerwani DPP rally on 15 August, where over 700 Gerwani Dwikora volunteers from the Jakarta training centre (Tiswati Jaya) swore oath, then the Merde
JPRS translation of Harian Rakjat, 23 Jan 1964, on the Third Plenary Session of Gerwani's Central Council (Bandung, 18-22 Jan 1964). Chair Umi Sardjono reports on crushing 'Malaysia', price rises, the Cabinet of Mutual Assistance and land reform; stresses integration with peasant women, cooperation with the BTI, West I
JPRS translation of a Harian Rakjat piece (4 Jan 1964) by Suwati Trimo (Sutrimo) on Gerwani's plans after the 1961 Fourth Congress, plus the end of another National Front speech and an Aidit message to prison personnel. Reports membership growth (Surabaya 14,434 to 16,231; Jakarta trained 45 cadres), peasant and anti-'
Renmin Ribao p. 3 (20 Mar 1964), on Indonesian volunteer registration against 'Malaysia'. The excerpt lists organisations whose members rushed to register at the National Front office, including SOBSI, the BTI peasants' front, the Indonesian Women's Movement Association (Gerwani), journalists, students and Baperki. No
Renmin Ribao p. 3 (20 Mar 1964), on Indonesian volunteer registration against 'Malaysia'. The excerpt lists organisations whose members rushed to register at the National Front office, including SOBSI, the BTI peasants' front, the Indonesian Women's Movement Association (Gerwani), journalists, students and Baperki. No
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio report (19 Apr 1964) of a rally welcoming a North Korean Supreme People's Assembly delegation, with speeches by Sudibjo (National Front), Arudji Kartawinata and delegation chair Choe Won-taek, who said two divisions of Korean volunteers would join the anti-Malaysia campaign. The delegation'
FBIS-monitored KCNA report (21 Apr 1964) on the Jakarta welcome rally for the Korean Supreme People's Assembly delegation: speeches by Sudibjo, Arudji Kartawinata and Choe Won-taek on anti-imperialist solidarity, the Malaysia confrontation and new ambassador-level ties. On p.3 Mudiktio (Mudigdio), MP and deputy chair o
Soviet Woman, 31 May 1964, p. (fragment): closing section of a Soviet Women's Committee delegation account of Indonesia (Mother's Day, Dec 1963), followed by an unrelated agricultural chemistry article. Delegates met Hurustiati Subandrio, Madame Supeni and 'Madame Umi Sarjono, Member of Parliament and President of Gerw
CIA Office of Current Intelligence Special Report SC 00642/64A, 'Sukarno and the Communists' (23 Oct 1964, Secret; declassified 1975). Analyses Sukarno's mutual exploitation with the PKI and Aidit's strategy; lists PKI front membership claims, including Gerwani at almost two million, beside BTI, SOBSI, Pemuda Rakjat an
CIA Office of Current Intelligence report 'Sukarno and the Communists' (23 Oct 1964, ten pages), pre-coup assessment of the PKI-Sukarno relationship. Describes PKI growth to a claimed three million members and its fronts, including the Women's Front (GERWANI), 'almost two million'; also the cabinet, National Front, lan
Xinhua roundup in Renmin Ribao (5 Dec 1964, p. 5) on world reaction to the US-Belgian attack on Stanleyville, Congo, including a 10,000-strong anti-US demonstration in Jakarta that stormed and burned the USIS library. Gerwani appears in one sentence: its Central Council demanded withdrawal of the aggressor forces, alon
FBIS-monitored Jakarta radio report (10 Dec 1964) of a Senayan rally marking the anniversary of Westerling's massacre of 40,000 in South Sulawesi. Sukarno attacked Malaysia and imperialism; Chaerul Saleh, Sudibjo and Parliament vice-speaker Mursalin also spoke. Mrs Salawati Daud, described as a South Sulawesi woman lea
Neues Deutschland, 17 December 1964, p. 7: full text of the 'Gemeinsame Erklärung' signed in Jakarta on 11 December 1964 at the end of a GDR Volkskammer delegation's visit (30 Nov–12 Dec) led by Johannes Dieckmann. Delegates met Sukarno, ministers and parties; one sentence mentions meetings with 'representatives of the
JPRS translation of Kartinah Kurdi's article in Harian Rakjat, 27 Sept 1965 (days before the coup), urging more intensive training of Gerwani 'Sukwati' volunteer women for Dwikora. Describes training centres (Jakarta 'Kartini' and 'Tavip' forces; provincial centres), rallies at Gerwani's 15th anniversary, women marchin
Neues Deutschland, 4 February 1965, p. 2: report on the Volkskammer session at which President Johannes Dieckmann reported on the delegation's 30 Nov–14 Dec 1964 trip to Indonesia. Quoting his report: on the penultimate day the delegation held talks 'with the leadership of Gerwani, the women's organisation of the Commu
Xinhua dispatches in Renmin Ribao (7 Feb 1965, p. 3): Subandrio calls the Indonesia-China joint statement 'a big hammer striking imperialism', and National Front, youth, student groups and Gerwani acclaim it. Gerwani is mentioned only in the last sentence, as having telegraphed Subandrio. Illustrates Gerwani's place in
Berita Harian, 8 Jun 1965 (Reuters, lead only). Sudibjo, secretary-general of the National Front, warned Indonesians to be vigilant against subversive movements of domestic women's organisations, speaking at a political rally of Gerwani.
US Consulate Medan telegram 509, 7-8 June 1965: the military used Dwikora authority to overrule the governor over banning the newspaper Tjahaja, called a clear Army win. Pre-coup Army-PKI rivalry in North Sumatra; no Gerwani content.
Berita Harian, 8 June 1965, p. 3, Reuters: at a Gerwani political-military rally, National Front secretary-general Sudibjo warns the public to be vigilant against 'womanish' bourgeois women's organisations that are 'afraid of politics' and 'afraid of the people' and want to 'lure men'. Shows Gerwani's mobilisation in 1
Long Xinhua summary in Renmin Ribao (12 June 1965, p. 3) of D.N. Aidit's political report to the enlarged PKI Central Committee plenum, 'Step up the revolutionary offensive on all fronts': Nasakom, bureaucratic capitalists, takeovers of US firms, the Murba/BPS ban, Vietnam, the UN exit, Khrushchev's fall; PKI over 3 mi
JPRS Translations on South and East Asia No. 101: selected Oct 1965 Indonesian press items. Gerwani-related: Duta Masjarakat (16 Oct) 'Dismiss Gerwani from Women's Movement' saying members trained at Lobang Buaja and urging Kowani (chair Hurustiati Subandrio) to act; 11 Oct 'Gerwani and Pemuda Rakjat in Disguise' (clai
Evening Post (Wellington), 11 Oct 1965, AAP-Reuter/AP/NZPA report: mass arrests of Communists in Jakarta (about 1,500 detained in a week, 2,000 in Java) and fears of a Communist counter-terror. A Muslim mob ransacked a suburban Gerwani office, destroying files and furniture. Saura Islam alleges Communist women tried to
Headline-only clipping 'Fears of a New Surge of Red Terror in Indonesia' from the Evening Post of 11 Oct 1965; no further text.
Opening clipping of the Evening Post article of 11 Oct 1965: mass arrests of Communists continued in Jakarta, with fears of a retaliatory terror campaign; unofficial estimates of 1,500 detained in a week and 2,000 captured in Java. Gerwani is not mentioned in this fragment.
Opening clipping of the Evening Post article of 11 Oct 1965: mass arrests of Communists continued in Jakarta, with fears of a retaliatory terror campaign; unofficial estimates of 1,500 detained in a week and 2,000 captured in Java. Gerwani is not mentioned in this fragment.
Clipping from the Evening Post, 11 Oct 1965: a Muslim mob ransacked a suburban Gerwani office, destroying files and burning furniture, after PKI headquarters was burned; Sukarno reportedly gave the Army 'full power'; PNI backs the Army; Saura Islam claims Communist women tried to kidnap Muslim women.
Renmin Ribao compilation (20 Oct 1965, p. 5) of Indonesian organisations' statements after 30 September, taken from Radio Republik Indonesia and Antara. Nahdlatul Ulama and affiliates, Perti and others demand dissolution of the PKI, Pemuda Rakyat and Gerwani; the NU text alleges Gerwani and Pemuda Rakyat members were t
Suara Merdeka (Semarang), 29 Oktober 1965, hlm. 1. Central Java National Front decision 20/PDFN/1965 (27 Oct) freezing fifteen parties and organisations including 'Ormas Wanita Gerwani (Gerakan Wanita Indonesia)' and Baperki.
De Nieuwe Limburger, 9 Nov 1965 (Reuters): Subandrio denies involvement in the coup and criticises army dismissals; troops search Jakarta's Chinese quarter. Thousands of women and girls, about 10,000 housewives, students and actresses, march from Suharto's headquarters to the National Front demanding dissolution of Ger
Het Parool wire report (9 Nov 1965) under 'Women cheer Suharto': 100,000 anti-communist demonstrators in Jakarta demand a ban on the PKI and 'crushing' of the 30 September movement; the army searches a Chinese quarter. Thousands of women marched to National Front headquarters; Suharto thanked them for loyalty to the ar
Het Rotterdamsch Parool report (9 Nov 1965, p.1) under 'Women cheer Suharto', same wire text as other Dutch papers: 100,000 anti-communist demonstrators in Jakarta demand banning the PKI; the army searches a Chinese quarter; thousands of women march to the National Front HQ, are addressed by Suharto and cheer him, repr
Leeuwarder Courant, 9 November 1965, p. 5: report that about 10,000 housewives, schoolgirls and actresses marched in Jakarta to the National Front office demanding dissolution of Gerwani and state control of communist-run schools, while over a million demanded the PKI's dissolution. Governor Mokhtar says 251 were kille
South China Morning Post, 9 Nov 1965, p.20 (Jakarta, 8 Nov): Sukarno is given a list of suspected PKI members of parliament; about 10,000 housewives, girl students and actresses marched to Suharto's HQ and the National Front office shouting support for Sukarno and the armed forces, denounced Gerwani, 'the PKI's women's
The Guardian, 9 Nov 1965, p.12 (BUP/Reuter, Jakarta, 8 Nov): about 10,000 Indonesian women and girls, led by drummers and majorettes, marched from Suharto's headquarters to the National Front office shouting support for Sukarno and against the Communists, and called for the dissolution of Gerwani, 'the Communist women'
Dunántúli Napló, 9 Nov 1965, news roundup on Indonesia after 30 September: PKI ban spreads to Bali, Sukarno keeps Nasakom but hints at measures, press closures, 102 deputies blacklisted. Notably, right-wing forces staged a women's demonstration in Jakarta marching to Suharto's house and the National Front, demanding a
Somogyi Neplap (Hungary), 9 Nov 1965, p. 2: MTI report 'New anti-left measures' from Jakarta. A right-wing women's demonstration marched to Suharto's house and the National Front, demanding a final ban of the PKI and Gerwani. Also covers searches in Jakarta's old town, a blacklist of 102 deputies, the PKI ban extended
Sunraysia Daily (Mildura), 10 November 1965, p. 14, AAP/UPI report from Jakarta that 10,000 women (housewives, students, actresses) denounced Gerwani as 'a disgrace to Indonesian womanhood' and demanded its dissolution. They marched from Suharto's headquarters to the National Front with bands and batons and handed a pe
Sunraysia Daily (Mildura), 10 November 1965, p. 14, AAP/UPI report from Jakarta that 10,000 women (housewives, students, actresses) denounced Gerwani as 'a disgrace to Indonesian womanhood' and demanded its dissolution. They marched from Suharto's headquarters to the National Front with bands and batons and handed a pe
FBIS item (Jakarta radio, 14 Nov 1965): National Front secretary-general Sudibjo briefed Kowani leaders and affiliated organisations, saying the 30 September Movement, especially PKI elements and mass organisations, split revolutionary unity and weakened the Dwikora offensive. He urged mass action consolidated under Su
Canberra Times, 15 Nov 1965, p. 5 (AAP): Suharto says Sukarno's KOTI command will be overhauled; analysis of the Sukarno-Army power struggle and Subandrio's fate. Reports that 1,000 women marched on government offices backing the anti-Communist purge and presented a National Front resolution announcing suspension of Ge
Canberra Times, 15 Nov 1965, p. 5 (AAP): Suharto says Sukarno's KOTI command will be overhauled; analysis of the Sukarno-Army power struggle and Subandrio's fate. Reports that 1,000 women marched on government offices backing the anti-Communist purge and presented a National Front resolution announcing suspension of Ge
US Consulate Medan telegram, 6 December 1965: after the PKI's 'virtual destruction' in Sumatra the Army extends control over civil service, press, youth, National Front and Hansip. Shows the institutional consolidation that followed the killings.
FBIS item (Jakarta radio, 8 Mar 1966): Subandrio's speech at the International Women's Day rally in Senayan, sponsored by the National Front and Kowani. He denied that Indonesia had veered right, urged solidarity with progressive states and Nasakom, and said women played an important role. Gerwani is not named.
Roger Paget's 1970 Cornell PhD thesis on how student and youth action groups, culminating in KAMI, emerged after 1 October 1965 and helped undermine Sukarno. Gerwani appears in several passages: action fronts demanded its banning (p. 44) and its offices were ransacked (p. 63); Herlina denounced it for not fighting Mala
Berita Yudha, 1 Oct 1993, p. 2: reprints Maj. Gen. Soeharto's 15 Oct 1965 speech to the Front Nasional from Alex Dinuth's document selection, narrating 1–4 October 1965; Gerwani mentioned.
Tempo.co profile (2 Oct 2015, by Bobby Chandra) of Putmainah, 77, former Gerwani chair and PKI faction member of the Blitar DPRD, now stroke-afflicted in Pakisrejo, Srengat. Her husband Subandi, Blitar Front Nasional and DPRD head, was killed after a PKI congress; she fled into the forest with seven children. Once a re
Journal article (2019) by Kurnia and Miftahuddin on Gerwani in Trikora 1961-63: Gerwani joined the Front Nasional on 17 Jan 1962 for 1.125 million members, and a delegation led by Sulami offered volunteers. Dated chronicle of Gerwani's West Irian mobilisation.
Ruth Indiah Rahayu's 2020 essay on Gerwani's anti-imperialist feminism in the Cold War: the 17 Jan 1962 volunteer registration for West Irian reported in Api Kartini, Gerwani as the pioneer of volunteer mobilisation, and a 2020 reflection on Papua. Key transnational analysis.
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
Tempo report (2 Oct 2022, Dini Pramita and Dody Hidayat) on forced labour and memory of 1965 political prisoners. Yosephina Endang Lestari recalls Plantungan women's camp (sewing unit, Santiaji Pancasila, poor health); Ita F. Nadia describes its five aims including re-domestication of women. Hersri Setiawan (Buru) and
PhD dissertation (Northwestern, 2023) by Norman Joshua on the militarization of Indonesian society, 1930-1966. It argues the Army intervened in non-military affairs through the 'twin logics' of emergency powers and counterinsurgency, culminating in the New Order. Gerwani appears only in passing: p. 428 gives its claime