In Indonesia, the legacy of Raden Ajeng Kartini (1879-1904) is celebrated on Kartini Day, every year on April 21. Around the world, Kartini is recognized as a major figure in the history of the advancement of women: a tireless and effective advocate of women's education and emancipation. However, … [Read more...]
To Remain Myself
April 20, 2025 by
To Remain Myself is a particularly vivid biography of a remarkable individual, an Indonesian historian and public intellectual who was both a public figure and a multi-minority member, being Dutch-educated, Indonesian Chinese, gay, alcoholic, irreligious and hedonist, in a conservative society. This … [Read more...]
Systemic Silencing
April 19, 2025 by
Systemic Silencing of Indonesian survivors of Japanese military sexual violence during World War II has persisted both globally and within Indonesia itself. The system of prostitution imposed and enforced by the Japanese military across East and Southeast Asia is today well-known and uniformly … [Read more...]
Suharto’s Cold War
April 19, 2025 by
After the murder of senior generals in the Indonesian army by elements of the country's communist party in 1965, General Suharto orchestrated the mass killing of some half a million leftists and fellow travelers. But his ambitions spanned far beyond perpetrating a politicide. Seeking to ensure that … [Read more...]
Oorlog zonder genade
April 19, 2025 by
Military chaplains were an important part of the Dutch armed forces during the War of Independence in Indonesia. In the second half of the 1940s, hundreds of ministers and priests were deployed in uniform to provide spiritual support to the troops and boost military morale. The military chaplains, … [Read more...]