SOCIAL ACTIVISTS from Indonesia

Top 2

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Indonesian Social Activists of all time. This list of famous Indonesian Social Activists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Kartini (1879 - 1904)

With an HPI of 55.84, Kartini is the most famous Indonesian Social Activist.  Her biography has been translated into 23 different languages on wikipedia.

Raden Adjeng Kartini, also known as Raden Ayu Kartini (21 April 1879 – 17 September 1904), was a prominent Indonesian activist who advocated for women's rights and female education. She was born into an aristocratic Javanese family in the Dutch East Indies (present-day Indonesia). After attending a Dutch-language primary school, she wanted to pursue further education, but Javanese women at the time were barred from higher education. Instead, Kartini entered a period of seclusion mandated for teenage girls until they married. She acquired knowledge by reading books and by corresponding with Indonesian and Dutch people. Her father allowed her to go into the community beginning in 1896, although she remained an unmarried single woman. She met various officials and influential people, including J.H. Abendanon. She began the tradition amongst three of her sisters to found and operate schools. After she died, schools were established by a foundation founded in the Netherlands. Some of her Indonesian friends also established Kartini Schools. After her death, her sisters continued her advocacy of educating girls and women. Kartini's letters were published in a Dutch magazine and eventually, in 1911, as the works: Door Duisternis tot Licht (From Dark Comes Light) and an English version, Letters of a Javanese Princess. Her birthday is now celebrated in Indonesia as Kartini Day in her honor. She opposed the Purdah-like seclusion of teenage girls and polygamy. Kartini is a National Hero of Indonesia.

2. Cut Nyak Dhien (1850 - 1908)

With an HPI of 52.85, Cut Nyak Dhien is the 2nd most famous Indonesian Social Activist.  Her biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Cut Nyak Dhien or Tjoet Nja' Dhien (c. 1848 – 6 November 1908) was a leader of the Acehnese guerrilla forces during the Aceh War. Following the death of her husband Teuku Umar, she led guerrilla actions against the Dutch for 25 years. She was posthumously awarded the title of National Hero of Indonesia on 2 May 1964 by the Indonesian government.