Fatmawati
Encyclopedia
Fatmawati is a National Hero of Indonesia . As the first Indonesian First Lady, She was the third wife of Sukarno
, the first president of Indonesia
, and the mother of the first female president. She constructed the first flag
flown by Indonesia.
Fatmawati was born on 5 February 1923 in Bengkulu
to Hasan Din and Chadijah. When she met Sukarno she was a teenager and he was married to a 53-year-old woman named Inggit. Unsurprisingly, she was unwilling to release her husband but, after two years, she agreed to a divorce. Sukarno rationalised the need for his new wife by stating his desire to have a child to carry on his name.
In 1943 Fatmawati became the third wife of Sukarno
and the following year gave birth to his first child, a son. Sukarno named his child Guntur meaning thunder. In 1945 she was his wife when Indonesia declared independence. The flag of the new country was sewn by Fatmawati, and the same flag was re-flown every year until 1967. She was not his first wife, as he had married several times before. However all the previous wives had been divorced in line with Muslim law. Fatmawati was therefore his only wife at that time.
Fatmawati objected when her husband took Hartini (Siti Hartinah
's older sister), his new wife, according to Muslim law. Sukarno married another woman from Java in 1953 and Fatmawati moved out of the presidential palace and lived separately in Jakarta. As part of the settlement Fatmawati was allowed to keep the title of First Lady. This development was a major blow to the growing women's movement. Fatmawati decided that she was going to divorce the President, but she could find no religious leader who was willing to oppose the will of Sukarno. The women's organisation consoled and advised Fatmawati and they tried to encourage her to return to the palace and reestablish her rights. Sukarno himself was annoyed by this development although his new wife understood Fatmawati's anger.
Sukarno's new wife bore him two additional children; however Sukarno reacted badly when he heard that his latest wife had allowed a women's group to consider transferring the title of First Lady to her. Sukarno returned and had her thrown out of the meeting and exiled to Bogor
.
In 1953 Fatmawati became concerned about the plight of children with tubercolosis. She founded the Ibu Soekarno Foundation to fund a hospital. The following year a hospital was opened with the assistance of government funding. This was called the Mrs Sokarno Hospital and Fatmawati laid the foundation stone in 1954. The birth of the hospital was a long one. The construction of the new building was halted by financial problems and it was not until 1961 that the hospital opened. By that time the hospital was run by the Ministry of Health and it did not specialise in tuberculosis or children but was a general hospital. In 1967 the name was changed to the Fatmawati Central General Hospital.
Fatmawati's second child, Megawati Soekarnoputri, was a daughter who became president herself in 2001.
, Malaysia, on her way back to Jakarta
from an umra
in Mecca
. She is buried in Karet Bivak Cemetery
, Central Jakarta
.
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
, the first president of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, and the mother of the first female president. She constructed the first flag
Flag of Indonesia
The national flag of Indonesia, which is known as Sang Saka Merah-Putih or Bendera Merah-Putih or simply Merah-Putih in Indonesian, is based on the banner of the 13th century Majapahit Empire in East Java...
flown by Indonesia.
Life
Bengkulu
Bengkulu is a province of Indonesia. It is on the southwest coast of the island of Sumatra, and borders the provinces of West Sumatra, Jambi, South Sumatra and Lampung. The capital and largest city is Bengkulu city. It was formerly the site of a British garrison, which they called Bencoolen...
to Hasan Din and Chadijah. When she met Sukarno she was a teenager and he was married to a 53-year-old woman named Inggit. Unsurprisingly, she was unwilling to release her husband but, after two years, she agreed to a divorce. Sukarno rationalised the need for his new wife by stating his desire to have a child to carry on his name.
In 1943 Fatmawati became the third wife of Sukarno
Sukarno
Sukarno, born Kusno Sosrodihardjo was the first President of Indonesia.Sukarno was the leader of his country's struggle for independence from the Netherlands and was Indonesia's first President from 1945 to 1967...
and the following year gave birth to his first child, a son. Sukarno named his child Guntur meaning thunder. In 1945 she was his wife when Indonesia declared independence. The flag of the new country was sewn by Fatmawati, and the same flag was re-flown every year until 1967. She was not his first wife, as he had married several times before. However all the previous wives had been divorced in line with Muslim law. Fatmawati was therefore his only wife at that time.
Polygamy
There was a growing movement to reform women's rights in Indonesia and part of this was to reform the marriage laws. Fatmawati was not initially in favour of reforming these laws until she found out about her husband's intentions to marry again. Moreover this time Sukarno had decided that he did not want to divorce Fatmawati but intended to have two wives.Fatmawati objected when her husband took Hartini (Siti Hartinah
Siti Hartinah
Raden Ayu Siti Hartinah was the wife of the second Indonesian president, Suharto. She is usually known as Ibu Tien to Indonesians, but is also known as Siti Hartinah Soeharto .Mrs Suharto was also widely acknowledged to be a close confidant and political advisor to...
's older sister), his new wife, according to Muslim law. Sukarno married another woman from Java in 1953 and Fatmawati moved out of the presidential palace and lived separately in Jakarta. As part of the settlement Fatmawati was allowed to keep the title of First Lady. This development was a major blow to the growing women's movement. Fatmawati decided that she was going to divorce the President, but she could find no religious leader who was willing to oppose the will of Sukarno. The women's organisation consoled and advised Fatmawati and they tried to encourage her to return to the palace and reestablish her rights. Sukarno himself was annoyed by this development although his new wife understood Fatmawati's anger.
Sukarno's new wife bore him two additional children; however Sukarno reacted badly when he heard that his latest wife had allowed a women's group to consider transferring the title of First Lady to her. Sukarno returned and had her thrown out of the meeting and exiled to Bogor
Bogor
Bogor is a city on the island of Java in the West Java province of Indonesia. The city is located in the center of the Bogor Regency , 60 kilometers south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta...
.
In 1953 Fatmawati became concerned about the plight of children with tubercolosis. She founded the Ibu Soekarno Foundation to fund a hospital. The following year a hospital was opened with the assistance of government funding. This was called the Mrs Sokarno Hospital and Fatmawati laid the foundation stone in 1954. The birth of the hospital was a long one. The construction of the new building was halted by financial problems and it was not until 1961 that the hospital opened. By that time the hospital was run by the Ministry of Health and it did not specialise in tuberculosis or children but was a general hospital. In 1967 the name was changed to the Fatmawati Central General Hospital.
Fatmawati's second child, Megawati Soekarnoputri, was a daughter who became president herself in 2001.
Death
Fatmawati died of heart attack on 14 May 1980 in Kuala LumpurKuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Malaysia, on her way back to Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
from an umra
UMRA
UMRA is an abbreviation that stands for:*Unión Militar Republicana Antifascista, an anti-fascist organization for military members in Spain during the Second Spanish Republic...
in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
. She is buried in Karet Bivak Cemetery
Karet Bivak Cemetery
Karet Bivak is a cemetery in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is the second largest in the city.-Description:Karet Bivak is located in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. It covers an area of , making it the second-largest cemetery in Jakarta. In 2007 it contained approximately 48,000 graves...
, Central Jakarta
Central Jakarta
Central Jakarta is one of the five cities which form Jakarta, Indonesia. It had 898,883 inhabitants at the 2010 Census.Central Jakarta is the smallest in area and population of the five cities of Jakarta. It is the administrative and political center of Jakarta and Indonesia...
.