KARTINI: What is with kebaya and cooking competition?
For many Indonesian women who grew up during the regime of Second Indonesian President, Suharto, being a girl on Kartini Day means “ kebaya-an ” (wearing a traditional Javanese blouse dress) or dressing up in traditional costume, while some older women participated in cooking, flower arrangement, and make up competition. This celebration was meant to commemorate Kartini’s effort on women empowerment during Dutch colonial day. From the Old Order regime (Sukarno era) up until now, Kartini is hailed as a national symbol and pioneer of women emancipation in Indonesia. Being born 137 years ago on April 21 1879, Kartini was part of a Javanese aristocrat and the 5 th daughter of 11 of Raden Mas Adipati Ario Sosroningrat, while her mother was her father’s secondary wife. Her father was the Regent of Jepara and one of 80 such native regents who held office through the Dutch colonial system, thus her family was considered to have a high social status among the natives. She got a chance to ...