49 Facts About Kartini

Raden Adjeng Kartini, known as Raden Ayu Kartini, was a prominent Indonesian advocate of women's rights and female education.

Kartini was born into an aristocratic Javanese family in the Dutch East Indies.

Kartini acquired knowledge by reading books and by corresponding with Indonesian and Dutch people.

Kartini's father allowed her to go into the community beginning in 1896, although she remained an unmarried single woman.

Kartini began the tradition amongst three of her sisters to found and operate schools.

Kartini's letters were published in a Dutch magazine and eventually, in 1911, as the works: Door Duisternis tot Licht and an English version, Letters of a Javanese Princess.

Kartini's birthday is celebrated in Indonesia as Kartini Day in her honor.

Kartini opposed the Purdah-like seclusion of teenage girls and polygamy.

Kartini was born 21 April 1879, in Java, Indonesia, in the village of Mayong.

Kartini's parents were Raden Adipati Sosroningrat, a member of the priyayi, and Ngasirah, the daughter of a religious scholar.

Kartini's father worked for the Dutch colonial empire of the Dutch East Indies as the administrative head of north-central Java.

In 1880, he became the Regent of Jepara, which meant that, in all likelihood, Kartini would marry another Regent.

Kartini's parents were Nyai Haji Siti Aminah, who had a pilgrimage to Mecca, and Kyai Modirono, likely devout Muslims.

Kartini called her step-mother "mother", rather than her birth mothers.

Kartini was the fifth child and second-eldest daughter in a family of eleven, including half-siblings.

Kartini was born into a family with a strong intellectual tradition.

Kartini's grandfather, Pangeran Ario Tjondronegoro IV, became a regent at the age of 25, while Kartini's older brother, Sosrokartono, was an accomplished linguist.

Kartini attended a Dutch school, which was her initiation to the Western world, beginning at the age of six.

Kartini was among the first Indonesian children to attend a European school and was treated poorly by teachers and fellow students.

Kartini remained in Dutch school until she was a teenager when she experienced the purdah-like "sheltered existence deemed appropriate to a young female noble", from 1891 to 1895.

Uncomfortable with the hierarchical dictates, Kartini was considerate of her subordinates and did not expect servants, commoners, or her younger siblings to treat her according to the cultural traditions.

Kartini was particularly annoyed when women berated or talked in a rebuking manner about young girls, the lowest on the hierarchical ladder.

Kartini stood up her ground for all of the females to go to school.

Kartini was fluent in Dutch and acquired several Dutch pen pals.

Kartini shared her opinions about feminism and her concern about traditional Javanese practices with her friends from Dutch school and Ovink-Soer.

Kartini was particularly concerned that Javanese girls were often denied an education and forced into marriage when they were young.

Kartini believed that education was important to develop oneself and to prepare for motherhood and was against arranged marriages and polygamy.

Kartini believed that women should be free to make decisions themselves.

Kartini decided that educational courses in character should be given to students due to the "deceit and hypocrisy" exhibited by Europeans and Asians at the ball.

Kartini learned about Kartini and approached her father to discuss the possibility of an arranged marriage.

The couple agreed that Kartini would continue her plans for the school.

Kartini became the fourth wife of Joyodiningrat, who had 12 children at the time.

Kartini continued to work at the school during her pregnancy.

Kartini's son Raden Mas Singgih was born on 13 September 1904.

Kartini died on 17 September 1904, four days after giving birth to her only child.

Kartini wrote letters extensively about matters important to her, including art, politics, education, public health, economic welfare, and literature.

Kartini corresponded with Estelle Zeehandelaar, who answered her pen-pal ad in the Daily Lily in 1900.

Unlike Kartini, who had been secluded for many years, Stella was a 25-year-old woman from Amsterdam who supported herself.

Kartini wrote about her feelings about marriage, polygyny, traditional mores, and education.

Kartini wrote about her relationship with her father and how she planned to improve herself.

Kartini met Abendanon, who sought to improve educational opportunities for girls, in 1900.

Kartini was the first Indonesian whose opinions were published in Dutch and popular among Dutch-speaking Indonesians and Europeans.

Kartini coordinated efforts between a group of Indonesian artists and Europeans in the East and West association.

Kartini believed that women were paramount in the process of improving the lives of Indonesian men and women, and because of that, she developed an education plan for girls that had the same academics and character-building instruction as for boys but included hygiene, first aid, and money management.

Kartini was particularly concerned about the lack of medical care for Indonesians, and female Indonesians in particular.

Kartini was introduced to Henri van Kol, a member of parliament, in August 1902, who offered to help her realize her plan to study teaching and first aid in the Netherlands.

Kartini received a scholarship, but many people in her life were concerned about her leaving Java.

Kartini operated the school by herself, teaching 10 girls four days a week.

Kartini's sisters continued the legacy of operating schools, including Rockmini.