Bahasa | English
Her News
Piece of Mind by Faiza Mardzoeki: In the Story of the Gerwani Women, Truth and False Memories
Women Center Stage
The Female Form As Seen by Women
‘Nymphs’ Dance Around Anti-Pornography Law
Women Making New Home on Indonesia's Stages
A Celebration Of Friendship Through Art in Jakarta
One Woman’s Mission to Save Traditional Indonesian Dance
Starting With the Woman in the Mirror
Dance Opera Taps Into Javanese Tradition
Layers of Beauty, Captured in Snapshots
Derau Stereotip Beatrix
Dari Perempuan tentang Tubuh
Perupa Perempuan, Nyoman Sani, Gelar Pameran Tunggal
Para Perupa Perempuan Pameran Bareng di Yogyakarta
Linda Christanty Kembali Raih Khatulistiwa Literary Awards
Tamasya ke Trauma Sekar
Menelurkan Aktor Monolog
Teater Bertendens Tiga Perempuan
Catatan Harian "Anjing Laksmi"
Ayu Utami: Madonna dalam Sastra Indonesia
Wajah Kontemporer Seni Serat
Lompatan Si Kijang Kencana
Dua Pertunjukan, Dua Sikap
Kisah dari Obyek-obyek Mini
Menarikan Semangat Perempuan Aceh
Membangun Sebuah Teater Pemberdayaan
Tiga Eksplorasi Gerak Fitri Setyaningsih
Geurangsang, Bangkitnya Perempuan Aceh
Perempuan Penantang Badai
Buluh Nadi Farida Oetoyo
Titi Sjuman Perempuan Satu-satunya
Perempuan dalam Dunia Cerpen
Drawing tentang Kemurungan
Patung-patung Seksi Altje Ully
Munculnya Para Komedian Perempuan
Sisa-Sisa Pemerkosaan itu…
Catatan dari Pameran Seni Kontemporer, Ada Kisah di Balik Pintu
Perempuan, Tubuh, dan Citra
Peneguhan Prasangka Gender
Srikandi Menolak Malu
Kartini, Perempuan, dan Agama
Dari Perempuan tentang Tubuh
Tubuh Perempuan Bertanduk Rusa
Pameran Mengenang Umi Dachlan
Tiga Naskah dalam Panggung dari Perempuan 2
Panggung Perempuan dari Masa Lalu
Tantangan dari Arahmaiani
Teater "Tanah Perempuan" Dipentaskan di Aceh
Suara Seniman Perempuan di Hari Kartini
PERNIK, Seni dan Perempuan
Indonesian Artist Finds Home Away From Home
Artist Altje Ully Breaks the Mold
Starting With the Woman in the Mirror
Kerja “Do It Your Self” Mutya Lorenza Dalam Album Faith, Love, Forgiveness
‘Poison’ Pill to Reveal Artist Within
A Unique Creative Retreat
An Artistic Middle Ground
Bermain-main Dengan Konvensi Diri
Women artists explore individual spirituality
At last, Altje Ully talks back
Dekonstruksi Perempuan dalam Seni Keramik
Persoalan Perempuan dalam Visual
Review Perempuan Bikin Rumah : Membaca Dunia Perempuan
Membaca Perempuan lewat ''Vagina Monolog''
Menggugat Kesewenangan Lewat Teater
Masa Lalu Tiga Perempuan
Teater: 3 Perempuan Pentas di Tiga Kota
Panggung Perempuan dari Masa Lalu
Pentas Tiga Penyair Perempuan
40 Wanita Pelukis Indonesia Gelar Pameran di Malaysia
Fitri Yani Luncurkan 'Dermaga Tak Bernama’
Female theater workers demand recognition in history books
Ayu Utami on literature, sex and politics
Fighting fundamentalism with her mighty pen
Nia Dinata: All it takes is courage
Ceko Pamerkan Film Perempuan Sineas Indonesia Festival Film Indonesia ke-4 di Ceko mendapat dukungan dari sutradara senior di negeri itu
Ceko Sambut Meriah Film 2 Wanita Sineas RI Film Nia Dinata dan Nan Achnas masing-masing ditonton sekitar 150 orang di Praha, Ceko
Art Unites Women of Indonesia, Iran
Viva Viva! Writer and Director
Loncatan leila, si kuda hitam
Generasi Terbaru Novelis Kita: Antara Marrakesh, Moskow, dan Spinoza
FRAU: Menenun Hujan Bersama Oskar
Kanvas Bebas Ay Tjoe
Catatan dari Pameran Seni Kontemporer; Ada Kisah di Balik Pintu
Art Exhibition Showcases Women’s Hidden Talent
Straight Talk by 7 Female Artists
Female Artists ‘Body’ of Work on Display in Jakarta
Pelukis Indonesia Ellawijt Pameran Tunggal di Chicago
Fakta dan Mitos Emiria Soenassa
Pameran Sang Perintis di BBJ
Kebisuan Perempuan Komponis
Tintin Wulia: At ease with experimenting
Emiria Soenassa: An auspicious artist
Dekonstruksi Perempuan dalam Seni Keramik
Seni, Siasat Perempuan Adat Cigugur
Seni Rupa Berbingkai Perempuan
Tubuh Wanita di Mata 43 Wanita Perupa
Piece of Mind by Faiza Mardzoeki: In the Story of the Gerwani Women, Truth and False Memories
Diambil dari: The Jakarta Globe
Last month I visited the Monumen Pancasila Sakti at Lubang Buaya, Jakarta, for the first time.
Those two words, “Lubang Buaya” (crocodile hole), have been on my mind since I was in primary school in the 1980s, attending Pancasila morality classes and history classes, where we had to study the 30th September Movement, the so-called G30S/PKI coup attempt. This was the date the “New Order” was established, crushed by General Suharto. It began at Lubang Buaya, where seven officers were killed.
At the Lubang Buaya Monument, there stands a statue of the “Heroes of the Revolution” and a diorama depicting the historical treasons of the PKI (Indonesian Communist Party) and the alleged torture of the generals in 1965. It gives the impression that the PKI was brutal and sadistic and the armed forces heroic. I looked for any information about the Indonesian women’s movement Gerwani (Gerakan Wanita Indonesia): nothing.
My impressions of those times always involved Gerwani. These immoral and devilish women, who slashed the generals’ private parts and gouged out their eyes. I didn’t understand that Gerwani was actually a women’s organization. The words “Gerwani” or “PKI” aroused feelings of something fearful and forbidden, but the main thing was to remember the dates for school tests. The fearfulness was heightened when we were taken to the local cinema to watch the film by Arifin C. Noer, “Pengkhianatan G 30 S/PKI” (“Treason G 30 S/PKI”).
That was the first time I had ever been to the cinema. There must have been tens of thousands of children throughout the country sitting, for the first time in their lives, in darkened cinemas watching the bloody, horrific scenes in the film; watching a Gerwani woman say in the most sadistic of tones: “Blood is red, General!”
By 1998, I was an adult, reading more and meeting a wide range of people. Among the women imprisoned, as a result of the events of Sept. 30, I began to understand there was another story of torture and trauma at Plantungan Women’s Prison, in Central Java.
I also visited the women’s prison site, where the Gerwani women were imprisoned.
Say the word “Gerwani,” and it evokes the memory of those evil, torturing women. Even today, daring woman who stay out too late at night might be labeled with the term.
But why? Gerwani was the biggest women’s organization in Indonesia with 1.5 million members. Its activities included literacy programs, founding kindergartens and advocating gender equality. Gerwani supported the policies of President Sukarno.
And, I later learned, the accusations of slashing privates and gouging the eyes of the generals was a total lie.
In the 1980s, the army hospital autopsy reports on the generals were found, revealing that no such torture occurred. I read the translation of each of the autopsies published in Cornell University’s Indonesia journal. According to the reports, the generals had been shot, and some had minor injuries. But the alleged torture never took place. I had been lied to in school, along with millions of other children.
Instead it was the members of Gerwani, thousands of them, who were tortured and sexually abused. They were raped, beaten and forced to dance naked while being photographed by their guards.
How could it be that in Indonesia, this country I love so much, there could have been the mass killing of our own people and the vicious slander of women who were just striving for what they believed in. To disagree, to campaign against an ideology, that is a part of political life and such rights should be protected by the law. But why did some people want to carry out this sadistic mass annihilation?
A truly great nation will not only celebrate their heroes, but will also have the honesty to recognize the evil and injustice that has caused so much suffering among the people. Great people are those who can learn from their mistakes.
Faiza Mardzoeki is an activist, playwright, theater producer and director of Institut Ungu. She can be contacted at faiza.lane@gmail.com and www.institutungu.com.