Indonesian Women Traversed the Seas to Attend This Conference (Sunardi, 1956)

=== [PDF page 1] === Our impressions of this Conference are so great and deep that we feel quite unable to express them; but deep in our hearts we have new courage which fills us with strength. This courage springs from being with women of the whole world. There were differences in dress and shades of skin but we all had one thing in common — the desire to fight for equal rights. What we learned at the Conference and the close friendship that we made there have made us more conscious than ever that the improvement of women’s status is not only a problem which affects women but also one which affects the whole of society. (Impressions of the Indonesian delegation to the World Conference of Women Workers) Extract from Speech presented to the Conference by Mme. SUNARDI ? OR A long time the workers of Indonesia have been held down under three kinds of government — the Dutch colonial government and its colonial rule, Japanese colonialism and its forced labour, and the Republic of Independent Indonesia and its Round Table Conference Agreement restoring and protecting the foreign monopolists’ domination in Indonesia. This treaty has just been abrogated unilaterally by the government and Parliament of the Republic of Indonesia but its execution is still being planned by a State Committee. this Conference... It is a fact that the living conditions of Indonesian workers are still far from being decent. The produce of Indonesia, especially rubber, tea, coffee, sugar oil and tin, of which there are great quantities, is a source of profit for people abroad whilst workers’ wages and insurance remain low Their monthy salary, whether they be employed in the government or in private enterprises is just sufficient for ten day’s proper livelihood. One of the causes of this is the constant rising prices of everyday necessities; big foreign monopolies are responsibile for this increase Women workers are forced to be reserve workers, additional workers and cheap labour. Government laws and the labour law on women workers are ofteh absolutely ignored or badly applied Apart from carrying out their duties as workers they must also take care of their homes and their families; they must bear attacks against them as wives, workers and women, It is not necessary to say that women, besides their work in factory, field or office, have many duties to perform such as cooking, sewing cleaning, mending old garments, taking care of children and preparing food for the whole family. Because of the lack of democratic marriage laws to protect married women, women workers can easily be abandoned; and sometimes they are the victims of polygamy. As there are no laws for the protection of women against acts of immorality, many women are at the mercy of their employers and masters. In their fight for improvement of living and working conditions and proper insurance, Indonesian women workers understand that they have to fight for general security and world peace. Indonesian workers, besides fighting for increased Wages, etc. are active in the fight to wipe out the terrorist gangs which roam the country, With the full support of the Indonesian workers and people, the Parliament of the Republic of Indonesia has unanimously adopted a resolution opposing H-bomb experiments on the Christmas Islands. In the carrying out of the principles established at the Bandung Conference, a committee has recently been set up in preparation for the As an and African Workers’ Conference” Ma Y 0 any women in Indonesia are employed on the tea plantations. Many philatelists have enriched their collection of stamps franced in such fara- Way stations as the Soviet North Pole 4 and North Pole 5. In the United States A thousand wives of members of the United Automobile Workers’ Union in Detroit met in July to discuss their participation in the 1956 elections. In Japan The Second World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs took place from 9th to 11th August in Nagasaki. Mmes. Monica Felton and Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier, Vice-Presidents of the W.I.D.F. took part in its work. In Uruguay A National Co-ordinating Committee against inferior literature for children has been formed. Participating in the Committee are the National Union of Teachers, Catholic Action, the Association for the Defence of Christian Homes and the Women’s Union. In Argentina A woman has been appointed minister for the first time. Mme Elena A. Zara de Decurgez has just taken her place in the Ministry of Education of the Buenos Aires province, the most important in fhe country. Tn Italy For the first time the Municipal Council of Bologne has constituted a permanent women’s section which will defend the cause of women’s rights from the economic, social and ideological point of view. In France The Third Congress of the International Association for Maladjusted Youth was held in July in Paris where 421 educators compared their experiences and sotight means of readjusting pre-delinquent children to social life. In South Africa On August llth and 12th a big conference organised by the Federation of South African Women took place. In the U.S. S.R. A series of studies was organised in Moscow from September 15th to 30th with the aim of informing representatives of different countries and organisations of the experiences of the U.S.S.R. in the realisation of women's equality with men in all spheres of life.... juridical, social, political and cultural. This was initiated by the government of the U.S.S.R. in support of the proposal of the Tenth Session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the Social Council of the U.N.O to organise an international series of studies on the status of women. In Poland A delegation of ten British women of different occupations and belonging to different political parties (Labour, Liberal and Communist) and some of whom belong to the Church of Scotland visited Poland on the invitation of the Polish Women's League They stated that they were very satisfied with their trip. In Great Britain In 1939, 900,000 women were employed; in 1955 the figure had risen to seven and a half million.