A Step Forward for Indonesian Women

A dozen women attended the first Boedi Oetomo congress in Yogyakarta on October 3, 1908. Although at that time they didn't have the chance to voice out their opinions, efforts to improve the status of women, especially through education, became one of the proposals of the Batavia branch of Boedi Oetomo.

Despite being fairly late, in 1912 a number of women initiated the formation of a women's organization under the auspices of Boedi Oetomo. Initiated by Tengkoe Theresia Sabaroeddin, Sadikoen Tondokoesoemo, Soetinah Djoyopranoto, and Roekmini, the organization was named Poetri Mardika. Theresia Sabaroeddin was elected chairperson, before being replaced by Soetinah in 1915, Asiah Koesrin (1916), and Siti Katidjah Abdoerachman (1918).

"Its main aim was to help fund the studies of intelligent girls and provide opportunities for them to participate in the public sphere," wrote Cora Vreede-De Stuers in The Indonesian Woman: Struggles and Achievements.

Poetri Mardika ran scholarship programs for underprivileged women, helped establish schools for women, and provided courses. They also cooperated with other associations, including those with Dutch members.  

"What's unique is that the Poetri Mardika association also accepts men as members," wrote Bambang Mulyadi Wicaksono in "Poetri Mardika (1912-1919)", a history thesis at the University of Indonesia. The number of Poetri Mardika members fluctuated; some new members joined but some left. By the end of 1919, the organization was joined by 123 members, both ordinary members and donors, which spread across various cities in Java.

Poetri Mardika members were diligent in their criticism in its periodical, Poetri Mardika, which began publication in 1914 and was managed by Sadikoen. It covered child marriage, polygamy, and forced marriage. They were active in opposing prostitution and trafficking in women, while also emphasizing equality.

Sriati Mangoenkoesoemo, the wife of Goenawan Mangoenkusumo, a moderate Boedi Oetomo figure, paid close attention to this issue. In Gedenkboek Boedi Oetomo 1908-20 May 1918, a collection of writings by Boedi Oetomo figures published on the organization's anniversary, Sriati said it was more important to teach Javanese women how to make their own decisions than to only teach Western knowledge and lifestyle.

"A woman must educate herself to be a good mother for her children and a good spouse for her husband. This does not mean that she will be the husband's 'toy'; rather, she must serve him consciously," Elsbeth Locher-Scholten quoted in Women and the Colonial State.  

Poetri Mardika disbanded in 1919 due to financial problems. However, its existence stimulated the formation of similar women's organizations.  

Shortly after Poetri Mardika was established, other women's organizations emerged: Kartini Fonds, Kautamaan Istri, Aisyah, Wanita Utomo, and many others. Political organizations and parties that were born later also had its women's organizations, and women's participation in the public sphere became more prominent.