Kartini, the Indonesian’s people’s princess

Today I nearly forgot it is Kartini’s Day in Indonesia. It is quite unique in a way that the birth of a very special woman is declared as a national holiday. Yep, everybody is off-work, school children wear costumes and have a fun day, communities and neighbourhoods organise a variety of competitions which focus on home economy. Every year it comes with a bang; a remembrance to a reformer who pioneered the education for girls and a celebration to her progressive mindset. Her goal in educating women was far-fetched for her generation and was deemed to be improper in feudal society at the end of the nineteenth century Java.

Her vision, in her own words in Bahasa, is as follows:

“Kami di sini memohon diusahakan pengajaran dan pendidikan anak-anak perempuan, bukan sekali-kali, karena kami menginginkan anak-anak perempuan itu menjadi saingan laki-laki dalam perjuangan hidupnya, tapi karena kami yakin akan pengaruhnya yang besar sekali bagi kaum wanita, agar wanita lebih cakap melakukan kewajibannya; menjadi ibu, pendidik manusia yang pertama-tama.”

Its nearest translation in English:

“We wish to provide learning and education to girls, not because we wish them to outdo men in their life but because of its tremendous impact (of learning and education) to women so as to empower them in doing their duties; to be a mother, the very first mentor to a human”.

It is as if answering a question I have been thinking: was Kartini a feminist? First and foremost, it is unpretentious to perceive that she was one with her open-minded but critical attitude. Fluent in Dutch, she was a passionate reader who digested any newspapers and books her circle of friends brought for her being trapped among four walls. At the time, the highest education a woman could get –only the ones from noble families- was to finish their last year in primary school. Afterwards they would be groomed to lead a conventional life marrying a noble.

In the readings, Kartini would have noticed about freedom of education to women in the Netherlands and Europe in general. She was pleading to her father to let her study further like her older brother, RM Sosrokartono. Even she was proposing to travel to the Netherlands. Her father could only shake his head with a heavy heart despite her sobbing. As a result, she was deeply frustrated with the situation.

Naturally she abhorred such an unfair treatment; one was domesticated and the other saw the world and travelling. I asked myself times: what was she thinking then? Did she demand equality; the epicentre of women’s liberation movement in the US and Europe started at the end of 1960s? If she were, I believe she had a point with which equality in education was of utmost importance.

Secondly, her accepting Raden Adipati Djojodiningrat’s proposal, her future husband, highlights the fact that she might have viewed an equal partnership in marriage. Some references note that it was against her will and she did that only to please her father. Did she?

According to Kartini, education for women is not a means to be the same with men but further to make them able to perform their role as a mother: a role model for their children. The first, the most important one in the early years. As a result, she understood that a mother should be smart and wise, for at their hands the foundation to behaviour and learning are laid. They are the ones who would shape their offsprings’ understanding to the world.

So, was Kartini a feminist? Nowadays it is intriguing that western women have more freedom but are less happier than fifty years ago. In Europe, men still earn between 20% and 30% more than her women in the same roles. I pause to ponder: where was the great expectation announced forty years ago that women should express themselves and object to be domesticated by a man?

To my way of thinking, she probably was influenced by early Western feminism. Nevertheless, she saw beyond equality and freedom issues, for at the end of the day a woman would be a mother regardless their changing circumstances.

In nowadays’ world, Kartini’s vision is still relevant. She opened the first girls’ school at the back of her huge back yard compound bearing in mind that they would be future mothers. Well, it was unthinkable at the time that a woman could remain single anyway.

In conclusion, Kartini fought for equality in education between men and women with a firm belief that both are able to do so. With this in mind, she would have seen women holding a variety of profession but still have to put her priority as a mother. And that is when everything comes into perspective.

Despite her short life, Kartini has touched the heart of every woman in Indonesia. She is the kind of people’s princess Indonesians proudly have.

(With many thanks to Vika for the quote)