The Murba Women's Union (, 'Murba' approximately meaning '

proletarian The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist philo ...

'), abbreviated Perwamu, was an Indonesian women's organization. Perwamu was founded on September 17, 1950. It was politically linked to the

leftwing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

Murba Party Murba Party (, Proletarian Party) was a 'National communism, national communist' political party in Indonesia.Harold Crouch, Crouch, Harold A. The Army and Politics in Indonesia. Politics and international relations of Southeast Asia'. Ithaca, N.Y ...

(which had been founded by

Tan Malaka Ibrahim Simabua Datuak (posthumous) Sutan Malaka also known as Tan Malaka (2 June 1897 – 21 February 1949) was an Indonesian statesman, teacher, Marxism, Marxist, Philosophy, philosopher, founder of Struggle Union (Persatuan Perjuangan) and Murb ...

in 1948). The organization undertook social, economic and educational activities.Martyn, Elizabeth.
The women's movement in post-colonial Indonesia: gender and nation in a new democracy
'. London .a. RoutledgeCurzon, 2005. p. 219 The organizational structure of Perwamu was based on

democratic centralism Democratic centralism is the organisational principle of most communist parties, in which decisions are made by a process of vigorous and open debate amongst party membership, and are subsequently binding upon all members of the party. The co ...

. Perwamu disappeared after the 1965 coup d'état.

Social activities

Perwamu ran various social assistance programmes to help poor women and children. The organization supported the set-up of 'household industries' (such as

batik Batik is a dyeing technique using wax Resist dyeing, resist. The term is also used to describe patterned textiles created with that technique. Batik is made by drawing or stamping wax on a cloth to prevent colour absorption during the dyein ...

and weaving), thus creating livelihoods for women. It also gave counseling on how to obtain government credits, as well as facilitating the set-up of joint purchasing and savings plans for women. Perwamu was active in educational activities, both studies in ideological doctrine as well as providing more general education. The organization set up various study centres (schools and reading rooms) to be able to spread education amongst the women of Indonesia. Specifically, the organization ran programmes to prevent

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

, and provided educational assistance to former prostitutes.

Political campaigns

In the late 1950s, Perwamu took part in the mass campaigns to make the Indonesian state officially celebrate

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on 8 March, commemorating women's fight for equality and liberation along with the women's rights movement. International Women's Day gives focus to issues such as gender equality, reproductive righ ...

(March 8). Along with other women's organizations, Perwamu also took part in campaigns to call for Indonesian sovereignty over

West Irian Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly Dutch colonial empire, Dutch and granted to Indonesia in 1962. Given the island is alternatively n ...

.Raja, Emmy St. Margaretha Lumban, and Yuniarti Nur Hanifah.
Kaukus Perempuan Politik Indonesia: peluang dan tantangan
'. akarta Program Studi Kajian Wanita, Program Pascasarjana, Universitas Indonesia, 2008. p. 34

References

{{Authority control Political organizations based in Indonesia Women's wings of communist parties Organizations established in 1950 1950 establishments in Indonesia Women's organizations based in Indonesia Women's wings of political parties in Indonesia