Where were you?
Were you there?
Or there?
Or there?
I was there.
Was this you?
Where you there?
Did you laid the table there?
Did you pick out his clothes?
Did you sew this banner?
(involvement in movement through skills.)
Did you do all that?
Were you there?
I was there.
You were?
We were there.
When talking about Indonesian heroines, there are only a handful of names we could immediately think of. When we talk about the already few names, there are only little tidbits that we could talk about without looking them up on the internet.
This woman lead the uprising against colonial powers in Aceh.
That woman wrote to her Dutch friend about how indigenous women deserves access to education.
This woman was the president’s wife and she sews the first national flag.
Is that all?
Did women only exist in delicate textile and letters?
Were they just accessories of their husbands?
Is Indonesian history that masculine, or was it deliberate that women can only exist in the margins of it?
As per May 2025, the Indonesian government wants to rewrite history. One of the ways is to remove The Women Congress (1928) from the syllabus taught in schools. (Reliubun, 2025)[1] The Women’s Congress is one of the only mentions of women-led movement in Indonesian history.
We are already searching for our mothers in the corners of every archive
Guessing
Assuming
Dreaming
If she laid the tablecloth that the proclamation was signed on.
If she said something to some powerful men that moved the nation forward.
If she had all the bright ideas but none bright enough to put her in the right room
Even if she didn’t
What did she wear?
Did she made it?
Did she liked her kebaya, or did she has no other choice?
Did she cook?
Did she like cooking?
How many kids did she have?
Did she want them?
Did what she wanted matter?
Will we keep wondering?
Will we keep imagining how women like us used to live?
When men were busy building the world?
Can we reclaim our place in history?
Can we rally and encourage women to participate in culture and history in a way that fosters community?
References
Hakim, I. A., 2025. Menbud Bantah Isu Kongres Perempuan 1928 Bakal Dihapus Pemerintah dalam Revisi Sejarah. [Online]
Available at: https://www.kompas.tv/nasional/595960/menbud-bantah-isu-kongres-perempuan-1928-bakal-dihapus-pemerintah-dalam-revisi-sejarah#
[Accessed 29 May 2025].
Reliubun, I., 2025. Yang Hilang dalam Sejarah Indonesia versi Kementerian Kebudayaan. [Online]
Available at: https://www.tempo.co/teroka/sejarah-indonesia-kementerian-kebudayaan-1503781
[Accessed 29 May 2025].
Songs used:
Puspa, T., 1961. Sendja Diwadjah Aju. [Sound Recording].
Puspa was one of the first nationally recognized female singers. She recently passed in April 2025.
Suryani, L., 1965. Gendjer-Gendjer. [Sound Recording].
The song has been sung many times by many different artists, as it is a folk song from Banyuwangi, but this is the only version online that is sung by a woman. During the demonization of communism following the coup of 1965, the New Order fabricated a story about how during the coup, members of Gerwani (the female counterpart of the Indonesian Communism Party) danced and took part in orgies as they mutilated the generals while singing this song.
All photos used are from the archive of ANTARAFOTO
Thank you to Cicely Pilkington, Ken Syakira Wangsaatmadja, Langgam Grisyandi, and Maqeba Ifadha for participating in the workshop ‘That’s My Girl’ and providing annotations shown on the video.
[1] As of 27 May 2025, the Minister of Culture, Fadli Zon, has denied this claim. (Hakim, 2025)