Abstract
This chapter presents a biography of Umi Sardjono, one of the most important women activists on the political left in Indonesia in the period of 1940s to 1960s. We focus on her ongoing efforts to build a new, more just society for Indonesian women, based on a strong commitment to the rights of working women. She believed this goal could only be achieved by ending imperialism and implementing a socialist society. As Head of one of the most progressive women’s organizations, Gerakan Wanita Indonesia (The Indonesian Women’s Movement, Gerwani), Umi Sardjono advocated for reforms and ongoing struggles against the sources of oppression to improve the position of all women in society. Using interviews with Umi Sardjono, her speeches, press articles, and reports she wrote for Gerwani and the Indonesian parliament, the chapter reflects on her views about how to achieve gender equality in the context of a country that was simultaneously engaged in an ongoing process of decolonization.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Umi Sardjono for entrusting her life story with Ruth Indiah Rahayu; Saskia Wieringa for sharing Gerwani-related research materials; Paula Hendrikx and Ravando Lie for helping collect sources for this chapter; and Francisca de Haan for the opportunity to make this contribution.
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McGregor, K., Rahayu, R.I. (2023). Umi Sardjono (1923–2011) and the Quest to Build a New Society for Indonesian Women. In: de Haan, F. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Communist Women Activists around the World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13127-1_15
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