Obituary: NH Dini, Indonesian feminist literary figure

A car crash in her home town of Semarang has taken the life of prominent literary figure NH Dini at age 82. Born in Semarang on Feb. 29, 1936, Nurhayati Sri Hardini Siti Nukatin, affectionately known as NH Dini, had been interested in writing since her elementary school days. She often poured her heart’s contents into her school textbooks. Her mother, Kusaminah, was the person who introduced NH Dini to the world outside of school. Every night, she told her stories and read from Javanese magazines such as Panji Wulung and Penyebar Semangat. Kusaminah also introduced her daughter to tembang (Javanese songs) and the alphabet. In an interview with Antara news agency in 2017, Dini noted her mother’s influence on her character: “My mother was the person whose influence dominates [my] character and how [I] approach [my] surroundings.”