Raden Adjeng Kartini is a Javanese leading figure and the national
hero of Indonesia. Kartini is known as the pioneer of the resurgence of
indigenous women. Kartini was born in Jepara, Indonesia, on April 21, 1879. She
was the child of a noble that still obeyed the nation’s customs and traditions.
Kartini was the daughter of R.M. Sosroningrat with his first wife, but not
the main wife. In that period, polygamy was something that was normal. Her
mother's name was M.A. Ngasirah, a daughter of Nyai Haji Siti Aminah and Kyai
Haji Madirono, a religious teacher in Teluwakur, Jepara. The colonial
regulation at that time required that a regent must marry a noble. Because M.
A. Ngasirah was not a noble, Kartini's father married again with Raden Ajeng
Woerjan (Moerjam), a direct descendant of Raja Madura. After the marriage, Kartini's
father was appointed to be a regent in Jepara.
Kartini was the 5th child in her family. She had full- and
step-siblings. Kartini was the eldest daughter of her real siblings. She was
also a descendant of a smart family. Her grandfather, Pangeran Ario Tjondronegoro
IV, was appointed to be a regent when he was 25 years old. Kartini's brother,
Sosrokartono, was a person who was clever in languages. Until Kartini was 12
years old, she was permitted to go to school in ELS (Europese Lagere School)
and there, Kartini learned Dutch.
But after she was 12 years old, she had to live in the house and
be kept in seclusion. Kartini was very sad about this. She wanted to oppose
this, but she was scared because she was frightened that she would be regarded
as a rebellious child. To forget her sadness, she gathered textbooks and other
science books and she read them in the garden, while being accompanied by her
servant. Finally, reading became her hobby and she did not go a day without
reading. She read all the books and the newspaper. If she had difficulty in
understanding books or the newspaper, she always asked her father for an
explanation.
Because Kartini could speak Dutch, she began to be self-taught and
wrote letters to friends from the Netherlands. One of them was Rosa Abendanon,
who often supported her. From books, newspapers, and European magazines that
Kartini read, she became interested in the progress of the thinking of European
women. It became her desire to help indigenous local women progress. Local
women had a low social status at that time. Women should become not only
housewives, but also must be respected and acknowledged - that is what she
thought at that time. She began with gathering her female friends together to
teach them. She taught writing and science. In the middle of this activity, she
did not stop reading and wrote letters to her friends in the Netherlands.
Not long after she wrote a letter to Mr. J. H. Abendanon, she
asked for a scholarship to study in the Netherlands. The scholarship that she
had obtained could not be used by Kartini, because she was married off by her
parents to Raden Adipati Joyodiningrat.
Kartini often read the Semarang newspaper, De Locomotief, which was managed by
Pieter Brooshoof. She received cultural and science magazines and also a
women's magazine, Dutch De
Hollandsche Lelie. After several tries, Kartini sent in her articles and
they were published in De Hollandsche
Lelie. From her letters, it seemed that Kartini read everything with
full attention, and then she made notes. Sometimes Kartini mentioned one of the
articles or quoted several sentences. Her attention was focused not only on the
matter of the emancipation of women, but also on public social problems.
Kartini saw the struggle of women to receive freedom, autonomy and the equality
of the law as part of the wider movement.
Among the books that Kartini read before she was 20 years old were
Max Havelaar's book and Surat-Surat
Cinta written by Multatuli, which in November 1901 she had read
twice. And then she read De Stille
Kraacht (The Strength
Disappeared) which was written by Louis Coperus. Afterwards she read Van
Eeden's work that was high-quality, the work by Augusta de Witt, a feminist
novel created by Nyonya Goekoop de-Jong Van Beek, and an antiwar novel written
by Berta Von Suttner, Die Waffen Nieder (Placed the Weapon).
All of them had been written in the Netherlands.
Kartini was married on November 12, 1903. After she was married,
she went with her husband to Rembang. Her husband understood Kartini's wish,
and Kartini was given the freedom and support to establish a female school to
the east of the main gate complex of the Rembang regency office, or in a
building that currently is used as the Scout's Building. Because of her
perseverance, Kartini succeeded in establishing a female school in Semarang,
Surabaya, Yogyakarta, Malang, Madiun, Cirebon and other areas. The name of this
school is Sekolah Kartini.
Her popularity did not make Kartini become arrogant. She stayed
well-mannered, honored the family and everyone else, and did not distinguish between
poor and rich. The first and last child of Kartini and her husband, RM
Soesalit, was born on September 13, 1904. Several days after the birth of her
son, on September 17, 1904, Kartini died at the age of 25. Kartini was buried
in Desa Bulu, Kecamatan Bulu, Rembang.
After Kartini died, Mr. J. H. Abendanon collected and published
Kartini's letters in a book. The book was entitled, DOOR DUISTERNIS TOT LICHT. It means
“From Darkness to Light,” or "Habis Gelap Terbitlah Terang."
On May 2, 1964, Kartini was appointed a Hero of National
Independence and, at the same time, the day of Kartini's birth, April 21, was
to be commemorated every year as the public holiday that afterwards became
known as Kartini's Day, or "Hari Kartini."
Kartini is my hero because without Kartini's struggle to progress,
indigenous local women, who at that time had low social status, would not have
as many rights. I would not have knowledge now. Kartini made it possible for
all Indonesian women to be able to go to school and have knowledge.
