Some time around the mid of 2020, I turned on Netflix to find something to watch. Using the home TV, I was careful to find something that's suitable for family viewing. A title caught my eye - it was 'Kartini: Princess of Java'. We watched it and I was left deeply impacted by it.
A few days later, I looked the movie up and found another fictional adaptation of Kartini's life story; Kartini and Mr Postman, a version less true to history, made with a comedic touch. I enjoyed them both and was inspired by Kartini's character.
A few months later, I received the book offer from UII and made sure to include one of Kartini's biographies in my list.
The books arrived in April this year and I read the first half of this book to keep myself motivated for the rest of the semester. Now that I'm on break, I finished reading the second half.
Reading this has only reinforced the admiration I have for this figure. I learnt that Kartini as a person was a thinker and was always hungry for knowledge. Her curiosity and outspokenness earned her the nickname 'Trinil', from a tweeting bird to which she was likened, bearing in mind that women at her time were culturally expected to be prudent, courteous, and obedient.
Kartini was able to get a chance at education, being a Raden Ajeng, a daughter of the Bupati (a Regent). But she knew that depriving the people of education was a hindrance for them to ever grow out of poverty and oppression.
She knew well that such deprivation would only intensify the colonising power the Dutch had over the people. She thus wanted everyone, regardless of their gender and status, to have a chance at education as a matter of right. Before anyone else did, she saw the importance of education being provided to all.
Being the critical thinking person she is, Kartini questioned the practice of reading the Quran without ever knowing what it means. She questioned why she can't be taught the tafsir. Her heart was touched when a Javanese Syeikh finally taught her the meaning of al-Fatihah and she voiced out that more people should get to know it.
This led to the first Javanese translation of the Quran, which undoubtedly benefited the masses. The whole of this story was described by Kartini in her writings as emerging from darkness to light, which then inspired the writing of many books.
Her criticism over the cultural restrictions is seen, among others, when she had to undergo 'pingitan', a process which a Raden Ajeng undergoes to prepare them for marriage, whereby they are kept in the room for months, even years.
However, Kartini submitted to the practice as a sign of respect for her father whom she deeply loved. She took her pingitan period to read as much as she could, learning about the world from the square prison that is her room.
She found happiness and comfort in the company of books and developed high esteem towards the European women who were described therein as independent, educated and free. She turned the challenge into an opportunity.
Kartini was also against feudalism and the gap between the nobility and the people. She famously insisted on being called by merely Kartini, without her title as Raden Ajeng. 'Panggil saja aku Kartini' is widely known to illustrate her humility and disregard towards her high status in her day to day life.
I find it very reassuring that Kartini was not alone in this. Her father, Raden Mas Adipati Ario Sosroningrat was described to also have modern thinking and placed great emphasis on education.
However, her father's capability in going against the cultural limitations was restrained because of his position as the bupati who has to uphold customs and traditions. In this book, it was said that he had to maintain a stoic approach of rejecting some of Kartini's protests against the cultural limitations for this reason, despite his adoration for his daughter.
Kartini was also supported by her elder brother, Raden Mas Pangeran Sosrokartono, who had Dutch education. His outstanding achievements inspired Kartini in her fight. During Kartini's pingitan, he supplied her with books for her to read. Both her father and brother saw the truth in her fight and believed in her.
As much as she opposed the pingitan and the arranged marriage that followed, Kartini couldn't escape it. She eventually married a Bupati, Raden Mas Adipati Ario Djodjoadiningrat, who already had 3 wives at the time. Kartini had expressed her opposition against polygamy, and how much she wanted to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher instead of getting married.
She nonetheless finally married him, seeing the potential that becoming the wife of a Bupati would provide her with the avenues to bring her dreams into reality. Her husband supported her and together they built a school in which Kartini taught alongside her sisters who share the same dream.
Kartini died at a very young age, a few days after delivering her first and only son. Her efforts were not in vain as her fight became an awakening call for the people. After her death, schools were built in her name, and educational foundations too. She lived her life to the fullest and succeeded in making the impact that she wanted to see.
Reading this was truly enlightening and joyful for me. I finally understood the restricting grasp that customs and traditions had over their life, which I couldn't when I only watched the movies and ended up questioning.
Things like why her father had to have two wives, and many others were well explained in the book. As an outsider, I find this comprehensive enough for me to get to know her character, plus, references are made available for me to do cross reading.
Kartini and I share the same belief, that when fighting for education for women, it is never intended to compete with men. Rather, it is because of the understanding that women, as mothers, play the most influential role as the first educators for their family, and on a larger scale, the role to create a better nation, liberated from colonisation of all sorts. I couldn't say it better than the book did, but I believe that more people should understand this.
Needless to say, reading this has made me see the gift of education in a new light. I can't help but woe for the current condition where education once again is something people have to fight for. It doesn't help to have leaders who seem to fail to see the roots of problems and focus on things unnecessary.
I weep for the growing mentality that education is unimpactful and a waste of time. I worry about the disrespect professionals and academicians receive from society, despite offering advice only intended for our betterment.
I wonder if we need to have the gift of knowledge taken away from us to finally understand its value and give it enough appreciation. I surely hope not.
An inspiring read.
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