|
Nani Soewondo-Soerasno
Nani Soewondo-Soerasno[a] (born 15 August 1918 – date of death unknown)[1] was an Indonesian lawyer, suffragist, and women's rights activist. Early lifeSoewondo-Soerasno was born in Semarang in 1918 to a middle-class family.[2][3] Her parents supported her choice to study law in what was then called Batavia (now Jakarta).[3] She graduated in 1942 from the Faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia.[1] While studying, she was assistant to Soepomo, who would become known as the Father of the Indonesian Constitution.[1][4] CareerSoon after graduating, Soweondo took a position with the Department of Justice. Soewondo was a member of the NTR Commission (Nikah, Talak, Rudjuk) on marriage inequity set up by the 1949 Women's Congress, serving as secretary.[5] In 1950, the Indonesian government backed this commission and asked it to form new matrimonial legislation.[1] Soewondo continued to work closely with Maria Ulfah Santoso and the Indonesian Women's Congress in the early 1950s.[3] She was vice-president of the Women's Congress in the 1950s.[1] She served as editor-in-chief of Suara Perwari, the publication of Perwari (the Union of the Women of the Republic of Indonesia).[1] Soewondo also filled the role of president of the legal part of Perwari.[1] In 1955, she helped organize the Perhimpunan Wanita Universitas Indonesia (Association of Indonesian University Women), with herself as inaugural leader.[1]  In 1957, she served as a delegate to a United Nations conference in Colombo on increasing participation in civic life for Asian women.[2][1] In 1958, she participated in a 'study tour' of Australia to build cross-country links between Indonesian and Australian women's organizations.[6] In 1959, she was awarded a scholarship in honor of Elin Wägner by the Swedish government to carry out research on the history of Indonesian women's rights.[1] Described as a "forthright and experienced" woman, she was one of a number of prominent feminist leaders of the 1950s.[7] Mujīburraḥmān, an Indonesian historian, calls her "a leading activist of women's rights" in post-independence Indonesia.[8] The main part of her work was aimed at marriage laws. In the late 1950s, Soewondo served as part of a three-member commission to develop the precise wording of the proposed marriage act, which she subsequently advocated for.[1] Soewondo wrote in her book, Kedudukan wanita Indonesia, that the "deplorable situation" of Indonesian women would not improve until legislation to "protect women against polygamy and repudiation" are enacted.[1] She contrasted Indonesia unfavorably with another Muslim nation, Tunisia, which she viewed as being more active in providing legal protection for women in marriage and outlawing child marriage.[1] Soewondo worked to raise the age of marriage for girls, showing "outstanding dedication"; a 1973 research report on child marriage, which she helped author, helped lead to the 1974 Marriage Law reforms.[2][7] She also worked to combat polygamy and served as the vice-president of Planned Parenthood in Indonesia from 1957.[2][1] In 1981, she published a book on the status of Indonesian women under the law, which the Australian historian Susan Blackburn notes was unusual for its time period.[7] Soewondo had five children.[1] Notes
References
Information related to Nani Soewondo-Soerasno |
||||||||||
_with_Cora_Vreede-De_Stuers_in_1957.jpg)
