Miss DARMINI of the G.E.R.W.I.S.

Miss Darmini examined the changes in the situation in her country due, in particular, to the powerful united actions of the people.

In spite of the embargo which was created by the U.S.A. on the rubber trade between Indonesia and the People's Republic of China, the new government signed an agreement, in December 1953, to open trade with China.

Concerning the popularization of the World Congress of Women and its decisions, she said: The documents of the Congress were published and widely distributed among the women in Indonesia. The trade union of plantation workers, with a membership of 600,000, of which two thirds are women and which also sent a delegate to the Copenhagen Congress, has passed a resolution supporting the Declaration of Women's Rights. The delegates from the G.E.R.W.I.S. organized trips to the different islands, where they held public meetings. In addition the G.E.R.W.I.S. held provincial conferences to report on the Congress, and got out a special publication for the branches and groups, emphasizing the need for co-operation with other women's organizations, trade unions, peasant and youth organizations and leading personalities.

In carrying out the campaign for the rights of women, attempts were made, especially on the islands of Sumatra and Celebes, to inquire into the life and conditions of women and to enlighten them about the government regulation concerning maternity leave, because in these regions women are often discharged because of pregnancy. Discussions were organized among women workers and workers' wives about the rights of women, and labour and marriage problems. In the oil region of Jambi (Sumatra) a committee was formed for leading the campaign on women's rights, particularly on equal pay for equal work and social insurance.

Miss Darmini then emphasized the development of G.E.R.W.I.S., which is extending its work on the basis of the decisions of the Copenhagen Congress, and drew attention to the ""increasing number of branches and membership, not only on Java and Sumatra, but also on Borneo, Celebes and the small Sunda Islands, which are difficult to contact because of their great distance and the lack of transport.

At our first Congress in 1951 our membership was only 6,000; up till the time of the World Congress of Women in 1953, it had increased to 37,000; and now prior to our second Congress in March, our membership is 55,049, covering 163 branches.

Noteworthy examples of unity are the affiliations to the G.E.R.W.I.S. of the Union of Railway Workers Wives in 1952, with ten branches and a membership of 4,000, and the Union of Indonesian Women (P.E.R.W.I.N.), in August 1953, a local organization on the Isle of Celebes.

Miss Darmini then indicated the efforts made by G.E.R.W.I.S. to co-operate with the numerous women's organizations on Indonesia, and how this cooperation had been established around limited demands and events, for example in the celebration of national festivals, and in committees to assist the victims of natural calamities. Then she added:

The struggle for peace is also growing in Indonesia. On the 19th of December, 1953, a 'solidarity with Vietnam' meeting was held, and to-day our women are participating in the preparations for the Peace Congress, which will be held in January 1954. A further aspect of our struggle for peace is our organization of campaigns to oppose the military treaties with America, and the remilitarization of Japan.