Kartini Day

Kartini Day is an Indonesian holiday celebrated in memory of Ajeng Kartini’s birth, a national heroine honoured for her efforts in fighting for women’s rights.

Raden Ajeng Kartini was born on the 21st of April 1879 and is one of the country’s most recognisable faces.

Kartini was born to a noble Javanese local who once toiled for the Dutch colonialists. Due to this, Kartini was exposed to the ideals of the Western world at a very early age. Growing up, she was prohibited from getting an education because of her family’s nobility as well as age-old traditions. This led her to highlight the plight of locals suffering under the Dutch masters and the challenges Indonesian women faced. It also birthed her desire to fight for women’s right to education in Indonesia.

Even though she died in her prime at just 25 years, her efforts did not go unnoticed. Following her letters’ publication and the Kartini Foundation’s creation, the first Javanese girls’ school opened. The letters put together in the publication are letters she wrote to her international friends when she was secluded from school in anticipation of marriage.

Today, Kartini Day is celebrated on the 21st of April every year and is also referred to as ‘Hari Ibu Kartini’ by the locals. Hailed as the country’s first feminist, Kartini is the symbol of women’s strength in a world that is fraught with gender inequality and the suppression of women’s rights. Kartini’s desire to see women freed from the shackles of repressive laws and beliefs made her a heroine. Her legacy lives on today; this celebration is a testament to her resilience.