Raden Adjeng Kartini
Born on April 21, 1879, Raden Adjeng Kartini was the fifth child and eldest daughter of an aristocratic Javanese family in the Dutch East Indies. Her father was Regency Chief of Jepara. Although already married to Raden’s mother, the would-be Regent was required to marry his predecessor’s daughter to acquire the necessary social standing to ascend to his position. Polygamy was a practice that his daughter would later decry.
Raden’s family was noted for its intellectuals and linguists. However, no woman of the household was expected to follow this tradition. Raden was allowed to attend school until she was 12. During this time, she learned Dutch (which was virtually unheard of amongst Indonesian women of the period). Then, despite her abilities, she went into seclusion. This separation was a common practice for girls of her class before they married. Raden was not supposed to leave the house- although her father did allow her to attend public events.
Raden stayed in seclusion for twelve years. During this time, she set about educating herself. She subscribed to Dutch books and magazines and as a consequence exposed herself to new ideas -including the beginnings of western feminist thinking. Raden began to consider how her society could apply these new ideas to the lives of Indonesian women and her belief in women’s education began to grow. She began to correspond with Dutch women and submit letters to the magazines she read. After her death, these compiled into three books: Out of Darkness to Light, Women’s Life in the Village and Letters of a Javanese Princess.
Although there was some talk of Raden’s father allowing her to train as a teacher, this ambition came to nothing when she married at 24, to the Regency chief of Rembang. Raden became the leader’s third wife. However, she found her new husband remarkably receptive to her idea of expanding women’s horizons and rights. He allowed Raden to set up a woman’s school in the east porch of his offices and finally, she began to follow her vocation in life.
However, her work was cut short. On September 13, 1904, Raden gave birth to her first and only child, a son. She died several days later from complications with the birth. Her legacy, however, flourished. A Dutch family, the Van Deventer’s, inspired by her beliefs set up a series of ‘Kartini’ schools to educate girls. These schools began to spread across Indonesia and today, Indonesians celebrate Raden Kartini’s birthday as a national holiday known as ‘Kartini day.”