Kartini still a teacher and guide for us today

Simon Marcus Gower, Executive Principal, High/Scope Indonesia School, Jakarta

There is a very wise young Javanese lady who has much to teach the people of Indonesia, and indeed people all around the world, in this current year of 2004. She exists through her writings and her rightful place in the history books of Indonesia. She can be cited as a key figure in the emancipation of women and indeed all Indonesians and an advocate of individual liberties. In short, she can be seen as a remarkable person in her own times but also she is a very definite teacher and guide in and for our times.

In many ways it is hard to believe that her own time was so short and that it was so long ago. Her life spanned less than thirty years and her, all too early, death came in the year of 1904. For both of these reasons in is quite stunning that her presence in Indonesian history may be seen as so important today. She was but a young woman when death took her and some one hundred years on, the world, Indonesia and Java are very different places to those which she knew. And yet, she remains relevant and important and offers so many lessons and insights for modern day Indonesia.

It is, then, important that both young and old Indonesians alike remember her and consider the things that she did and contemplated which were so far ahead of her time and indeed of such contemporary relevance. Young people should be aware of her and be able to begin to consider the wisdom and intelligence contained in her short life. However, sometimes young Indonesians are not always being led to knowledge of Kartini, as evidenced by one group of teenagers who expressed surprise when they were told that Kartini died at such a young age.

But this is the fact, Kartini (or Raden Adjeng Kartini -- her full name) did die young and yet she has much to teach older people who have been fortunate enough to live longer than she did. Her thoughts really could and should be a great guide to educators not just in Indonesia but throughout the world too. For example, she was clearly an advocate of education for all as a force for emancipation. She evidently held to the principle that education should not dwell in the realms of shallow memorization -- as she put it "Besides the head, the heart should be guided as well, otherwise civilization remains superficial."

Observation such as this is as adroit and valid today as it was when she made it more than one hundred years ago. Still today, for too many people, education remains in shallow superficialities, that do nothing to help and support the moral fabric of society but merely exist in inept and inapt notions of passing tests and short term goals of graduation with little thought of the potential civilizing and socially responsible value of education. Kartini noted that "to be truly civilized, intellectual and moral education must go hand in hand."

Often times too, Kartini could be quite revolutionary and even controversial in her thinking, ideas and propositions. For example, she proposed that "we have to astonish people with an example that speaks to them and that may force them to follow it, if we want to achieve our goal of progress and enlightenment."

Obviously such challenging and controversial thinking was a product of her own life experiences. Born a daughter of a Javanese aristocrat -- the regent of Djepara -- Kartini was expected to quite meekly and mildly conform to the heavy and quite overbearing traditions of her aristocratic family but she was not one to conform and to be a mere follower. She herself noted the manner in which she would not passively follow tradition -- "I was always in trouble with my older brothers and sister because I chose not to obey what they deemed right unless I thought it was fair."

It would be all too easy for history to record such a character as rebellious and even destructive of traditions but in the quote above there is one very important phrase that shows the great value and credibility of Kartini and her thinking. Her use of the words "unless I thought it was fair" shows her importance as a progressive figure in history and for today.

It is apparent that this was a guiding principle throughout her life and one that she still stands for as a convincing advocate for the rights of people some one hundred years on. The tradition into which she was born was intransitive, burdensome and demanding of submissive and obedient behavior with little or no reference to what was fair or just for others. Her's was a world that would even inhibit a child's laughter. Such spontaneity would have been seen as unacceptable and had to be controlled and set aside by formality and ritual.

In essence Kartini was born to a tradition that would not recognize emotion and was imposing conformity and insisted upon acquiescence to a predetermined and stifling role in life. Kartini, though, would not accept such shackles and in so doing created an example for others and future generations.

The way in which she did not meekly conform and follow in line with tradition showed her spirit to explore her own mind and the world beyond her aristocratic upbringing. She recognized the value of learning and education in emancipating herself and bringing greater freedoms generally. She wrote of how she "ardently, ardently wished to have the power of language in order to state clearly what" (she thought and felt) "about so much that invokes admiration or indignation."

She clearly, then, had a hunger for knowledge and the ability to express herself. This was an example that should not be lost to all of us today. National heroes can sometimes be lost to only shallow appreciation and understanding of their true contributions to a nation and a people. The intelligence and wisdom of Kartini is perhaps most deserving of a deep and abiding appreciation and understanding, as it resonates so forcefully and valuably with our times. Kartini was a remarkable figure in her own time and she remains a remarkable figure for our times and offers considerable lessons of relevance and importance to guide us.

The opinions expressed above are personal.