Nani Soewondo-Soerasno (born 15 August 1918) is an Indonesian lawyer,

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

, and women's rights activist.

Early life

Soewondo-Soerasno was born in Semarang in 1918 to a middle-class family. Her parents supported her choice to study law in what was then called

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

(now Jakarta). She graduated in 1942 from the Faculty of Law at the

University of Indonesia The University of Indonesia ( id, Universitas Indonesia, abbreviated as UI) is a public university in Depok, West Java and Salemba, Jakarta, Indonesia. It is one of the oldest tertiary-level educational institutions in Indonesia (known as the D ...

. While studying, she was assistant to

Soepomo Soepomo (EYD: Supomo; 22 January 1903 – 12 September 1958) was an Indonesian politician and lawyer who served as the country's first Minister of Justice from August until November 1945 and again from December 1949 until 6 September 1950. K ...

, who would become known as the Father of the Indonesian Constitution.

Career

Soon after graduating, Soweondo took a position with the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

. Soewondo was a member of the NTR Commission (

Nikah In Islam, nikah is a contract between two people. Both the groom and the bride are to consent to the marriage of their own free wills. A formal, binding contract – verbal or on paper – is considered integral to a religiously valid Islam ...

, Talak, Rudjuk) on marriage inequity set up by the 1949 Women's Congress, serving as secretary. In 1950, the Indonesian government backed this commission and asked it to form new matrimonial legislation. Soewondo continued to work closely with Maria Ulfah Santoso and the

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 ...

in the early 1950s. She was vice-president of the Women's Congress in the 1950s. She served as editor-in-chief of ''Suara Perwari'', the publication of Perwari (the Union of the Women of the Republic of Indonesia). Soewondo also filled the role of president of the legal part of Perwari. In 1955, she helped organize the ''Perhimpunan Wanita Universitas Indonesia'' (Association of Indonesian University Women), with herself as inaugural leader. Indonesian feminist leaders at Colombo conference in 1958

Indonesian feminist leaders at Colombo conference in 1958

In 1957, she served as a delegate to a

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

conference in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo m ...

on increasing participation in civic life for Asian women. In 1958, she participated in a 'study tour' of Australia to build cross-country links between Indonesian and Australian women's organizations. In 1959, she was awarded a scholarship in honor of

Elin Wägner Elin Matilda Elisabet Wägner (16 May 1882 – 7 January 1949) was a Swedish writer, journalist, feminist, teacher, ecologist and pacifist. She was a member of the Swedish Academy from 1944. Biography Elin Wägner was born in Lund, Sweden as ...

by the Swedish government to carry out research on the history of Indonesian women's rights. Described as a "forthright and experienced" woman, she was one of a number of prominent feminist leaders of the 1950s. Mujīburraḥmān, an Indonesian historian, calls her "a leading activist of women's rights" in post-independence Indonesia. The main part of her work was aimed at marriage laws. In the late 1950s, Soewondo served as part of a three-member commission to develop the precise wording of the proposed marriage act, which she subsequently advocated for. Soewondo wrote in her book, ''Kedudukan wanita Indonesia'', that the "deplorable situation" of Indonesian women would not improve until legislation to "protect women against polygamy and repudiation" are enacted. She contrasted Indonesia unfavorably with another Muslim nation,

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, which she viewed as being more active in providing legal protection for women in marriage and outlawing child marriage. Soewondo worked to raise the

age of marriage Marriageable age (or marriage age) is the general age, as a legal age or as the minimum age subject to parental, religious or other forms of social approval, at which a person is legitimately allowed for marriage. Age and other prerequisites to ...

for girls, showing "outstanding dedication"; a 1973 research report on child marriage, which she helped author, helped lead to the 1974 Marriage Law reforms. She also worked to combat

polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is ...

and served as the vice-president of Planned Parenthood in Indonesia from 1957. In 1981, she published a book on the status of Indonesian women under the law, which the Australian historian Susan Blackburn notes was unusual for its time period. Soewondo had five children.

Notes

References

{{Reflist 1918 births Possibly living people 20th-century Indonesian lawyers 20th-century women lawyers Indonesian women lawyers Indonesian women's rights activists People from Semarang