Antoinette Wailan Weënas (25 November 19019 March 1991), better known by her birth name Antoinette Wailan Waroh, was an Indonesian politician who became the only female parliament member in the Provisional Representative Body of
East Indonesia
The State of East Indonesia ( id, Negara Indonesia Timur, old spelling: ''Negara Indonesia Timoer'', nl, Oost-Indonesië) was a post–World War II state formed in the eastern half of Dutch East Indies. Established in December 1946, it became ...
.
Early life
Waroh was born on 25 November 1901 in
Airmendidih (old spelling) in
Minahasa
The Minahasans (alternative spelling: Minahassa) are an ethnic group native to the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia, formerly known as North Celebes. The Minahasa people sometimes refer to themselves as Manado people. Although the Minahasan p ...
. She graduated from the school by the age of 16,
and continued her studies at the Teacher's School in
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
.
Career
After she graduated from the school, she worked as a teacher in the ''Hollandsch-Inlandsche School'' in Airmendidih. She moved to
Manado
Manado () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 Census giving a population of 451,916 distributed over a land area of 162.53 km2.Badan Pusa ...
in 1921, and became a teacher in the ''Meisjes
Normaalschool'' of Manado. In 1934, she was promoted and became the vice principal of the school, and in 1935, she was employed to the government at the Women Education Bureau in the Manado Residency.
She resigned as an employee in 1939, and moved to
Makassar. She worked again as a teacher at the ''Meisjes
Normaalschool'' in Blitar, Makassar. In 1942, she was promoted and became the headmaster of the school.
[
She moved again to Makassar and worked as a teacher in the General Elementary School and the Female Teacher's School. She only worked in there for several years, and in 1947 she began to work in the government of the newly formed State of East Indonesia. She became the school inspector and the inspector for female education of East Indonesia. A few months later, Waroh was promoted as the Head of the Education Bureau of East Indonesia.][
]
Parliamentary career
On 10 December 1947, Waroh was elected as a member of the Provisional Representative Body of East Indonesia from the National Fraction, making her the first and only female member of the representative body. Waroh was reported to have criticized the members of the parliament for failing to make a binding resolution regarding the dissolution of the cabinet of the State of East Indonesia.[
After the formation of the , Waroh became a member of the council on 20 March 1950, representing East Indonesia. After the council was dissolved, she retained this position, and became the member of the ]Provisional People's Representative Council
The Provisional People's Representative Council ( id, Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Sementara) was the first Indonesian legislature under the Provisional Constitution of 1950. The council was formed after the transition of Indonesia to a unitary state ...
from the Democratic fraction. She withdrew from the fraction on 1 May 1954, and since then, she has been independent.
During the 1955 Indonesian Constitutional Assembly election, Waroh was nominated as the member for the Constitutional Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
for the West Java
West Java ( id, Jawa Barat, su, ᮏᮝ ᮊᮥᮜᮧᮔ᮪, romanized ''Jawa Kulon'') is a province of Indonesia on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten ...
, West Kalimantan
West Kalimantan ( id, Kalimantan Barat) is a province of Indonesia. It is one of five Indonesian provinces comprising Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo. Its capital city is Pontianak. The province has an area of 147,307&nbs ...
, and the Central and North Sulawesi
North Sulawesi ( id, Sulawesi Utara) is a province of Indonesia. It is located on the Minahasa Peninsula of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia. It borders the Philippine province of Davao Occidental and Socc ...
constituency for the National People's Party. She did not win the election, and her party only obtained one seat in the Constitutional Assembly.
Later life and death
After her term in the council ended, Waroh participated in women organizations, such as KOWANI (Indonesian Women's Congress
The Indonesian Women's Congress ( id, Kongres Wanita Indonesia), often known by its Indonesian acronym Kowani, is a federation of Indonesian women's organizations which was founded in 1946. Its headquarters are located in Jakarta. The name also re ...
) and PIKAT (Love of His Mother to Her Children) organization. In 1972, Waroh became the chairwoman of PIKAT.[
By the people in her hometown, Waroh was nicknamed ''Oma Parlemen'' (Grandma Parliament).][
Waroh died on 9 March 1991 in Airmadidi. She was buried in the Lower Airmadidi Public Cemetery on 11 March 1991.][
]
Personal life
Waroh was married to Eldad Weënas in 1926 and they were divorced in 1938. The marriage resulted in one child, named Teddy Weënas.[
]
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Waroh, Antoinette
1901 births
1991 deaths
Women members of the People's Representative Council
Members of the People's Representative Council, 1950
Indonesian Christians
Minahasa people
People from Airmadidi
People of the Indonesian National Revolution
20th-century Indonesian women politicians
20th-century Indonesian politicians