1. Hajjah Rangkayo Rasuna Said was a campaigner for Indonesian independence and women's rights, particularly their rights to education and participation in politics.
18 Facts About Rasuna Said
1. 2.
Rasuna Said was born in Maninjau on 14 September 1910.
3.
Rasuna Said grew up in the house of her uncle as her father's work often took him away from home.
4.
The scholar Peter Post states that Said was asked to resign by Yunisyah because she was teaching political subjects to the students, which Yunisiyah forbade.
5.
Rasuna Said then studied for two years at a school linked to political and religious activism, and attended speeches given by the school director about nationalism and Indonesian independence.
6.
In 1926, Rasuna Said became active in the communist-affiliated Sarekat Rakyat organization, which was dissolved following a failed communist uprising in West Sumatra in 1927.
7.
That following year, Rasuna Said who was teaching in Padang Panjang, left her job after a disagreement with her employer as Rasuna Said had been teaching her students about the need for political action to bring about Indonesian independence, and moved to Padang, where the Permi leadership was based.
8.
On 23 October 1932, at a public meeting of the Permi women's section in Padang Panjang, Rasuna Said made a public speech entitled "Steps to the Independence of the People in a Greater Indonesia" in which she condemned the ruination of people's livelihoods and the damage done to the Indonesian people by colonialism.
9.
Rasuna Said was sentenced to 15 months in jail, which gave her national prominence as her trial and sentencing were widely reported.
10.
Rasuna Said used her trial to call for independence, and attracted widespread support.
11.
Rasuna Said studied at a Permi teacher training college in Padang for four years.
12.
Rasuna Said worked as a journalist, writing articles criticizing Dutch colonialism in the Raya college journal.
13.
Rasuna Said was arrested by the Japanese because of her membership of a pro-Indonesian independence organization, but was released after a short time as the authorities feared causing public discontent.
14.
Rasuna Said later joined Volksfront, which was a component of the Struggle Union established by nationalist-communist Tan Malaka.
15.
Rasuna Said was a member of the Sumatra Representative Council, and in July 1947 became a member of the Central Indonesian National Committee, the provisional legislature.
16.
In 1929, Rasuna Said married Duski Samad, a teaching colleague and political activist.
17.
Rasuna Said died in Jakarta of breast cancer on 2 November 1965.
18.
Rasuna Said is buried in the Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery in South Jakarta.