Soft on Sukarno (Gerwani and Sukarno's Polygamy)

Hussein Abri Soft on Sukarno Monday, October 4, 2021 Gerwani, a feminist group that often spoke against polygamy, did not comment when President Sukarno remarried. It reasoned that the country needed a unifying figure. arsip tempo: 179233733133.7978828 SHORTLY after the Movement of Conscious Indonesian Women (Gerwis) changed its name to the Indonesian Women’s Movement (Gerwani) in 1954, the organization became the talk of the town. In that same year, President Sukarno married Hartini. Gerwis, which was founded in 1950, often spoke against polygamy, the main cause of divorces in 1951-1952. In Java and Madura (an island in northern East Java), at that time the rate of polygamy reached 60 percent, rising to 62 percent in 1952, as the main cause of divorce. But Gerwis activists were silent when Sukarno married Hartini in 1954. Hartini was Sukarno’s fourth wife, who was married when Sukarno was still Fatmawati’s husband. Bung Karno did not grant Fatmawati’s request for a divorce, but ultimately did not forbid Fatmawati from leaving the State Palace with their children. Uchikowati often heard from her mother, Hartati, that many viewed Gerwani as soft in front of Sukarno. Hartati was a member of Gerwani and a friend of Umi Suharti Sumodiwidjo alias Umi Sardjono, the general chair of Gerwani. Uchi’s father, Djaufar Arifin Santosa, was the Regent of Cilacap in Central Java from 1959 to 1960. Umi Sardjono often came to her house accompanied by Gerwani activists and held meetings. Little Uchi, who was 7 years old at the time, often saw her mother attending serious meetings with Gerwani members. Umi Sardjono admitted to Ruth Indah Rahayu, Head of the Education Division of IndoProgress Institute for Social Research and Education, who met her periodically during 2002 to 2008, that Gerwani did not speak out against Sukarno’s polygamy. Umi was silent even though she did not like Sukarno's actions. It took some time before Umi could gather the courage to speak about her past with Ruth. After she was imprisoned by the New Order regime, she became reluctant to speak about politics and Gerwani’s activities. “Umi and Gerwani considered that they still needed Sukarno as a figure to fight imperialism,” said Ruth, quoting Umi, on Saturday, September 25. As a newly independent country, Gerwani judged it was only fit if Indonesia was led by Sukarno. He was a suitable figure to lead a government that was still being influenced by the remnants of colonialism. Umi and Gerwani, said Ruth, liked Sukarno because he often invited women and women’s organizations to be involved in formulating resistance to neocolonialism and imperialism. Their public defense of Sukarno was published in the Harian Rakjat newspaper on January 4, 1956. The newspaper, which is affiliated with the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), carried Umi’s statement concerning Sukarno’s polygamy. In her statement, Umi said that marriage is a private matter. Umi regretted the attitude of various parties that pushed for the divorce of Fatmawati-Sukarno. “In accordance with Gerwani’s stance, marriage must be free and democratic,” said Umi. According to Ruth, Umi knew very well that Gerwani was partly to blame because they were silent when Sukarno practiced polygamy. Moreover, at that time many women’s organizations demonstrated against Sukarno, including the Indonesian Women’s Union (Perwari). At that time, Perwari was keen to support Fatmawati and pushed her to leave the State Palace. In the book Gerwani: Kisah Tapol Wanita di Kamp Plantungan (Gerwani: The Story of Female Political Prisoners in Camp Plantungan), Amurwani Dwi Lestariningsih wrote that the soft attitude of Gerwani towards Sukarno’s polygamy strained their relations with other women’s organizations, including Perwari. Gerwani activists who often called out polygamous husbands in the villages had absurd excuses when dealing with Sukarno. Chair of the Women’s Archives and History Room, Ita Fatia Nadia, who had met with a number of Gerwani leaders and members, said that Gerwani activists were actually angry at Sukarno. However, this opposition was not apparent to the public. They chose silence because of the need for Sukarno as a figure against imperialism, which became Gerwani’s struggle. Hussein Abri [end of article; site navigation trimmed]