The representation of female heroes taught in schools typically centers on R.A. Kartini, who championed women’s emancipation. Kartini advocated for women to have equal rights in education alongside men.
Kartini played a significant role in the pre-independence era in the field of education, striving to educate women and equip them with skills to become competent mothers. Kartini, the daughter of the Regent of Jepara, wrote several letters that gained attention from J.H. Abendanon, the head of the colonial government’s Education Department since 1900, contributing to the publication of Kartini’s writings titled ‘Door duisternis tot licht’ (Out of Dark Comes Light). This writing aimed to provide crucial insights for young women at that time. Kartini’s name became known as an early milestone for the feminist movement in Indonesia.
Apart from Kartini, there exists another female hero rarely documented in history, Rahmah El Yunusiah. Born in Bukit Surungan, Padang Panjang, Dutch East Indies (now West Sumatra) on Saturday, December 29, 1900, to a family of scholars, her father, Muhammad Yunus al-Khalidiyah, was a prominent scholar, while her mother was named Rafiah. Rahmah El Yunusiah was given the epithet ‘ayam betina yang berkokok’ (the crowing female chicken).
She was renowned for her aspiration to advance her region. From a young age, she diligently sought knowledge, meeting prominent scholars in her region to enhance her religious knowledge. Eventually, she established Indonesia’s first Muslim women’s school, Diniyyah Puteri, on November 1, 1923, during the Dutch colonial era. Rahmah was the only woman given the title of ‘Syekhah’ by Al Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. This university mirrored Diniyyah Puteri. She preceded Al Azhar, earning her the title of a woman ahead of her time.
Around the 1927s, Rahmah El Yunusiah fearlessly confronted Dutch authority by continually developing Diniyyah Puteri. Despite the neighboring school, Thawalib, being paralyzed due to the 1927 PKI rebellion, Rahmah’s courage remained unwavering. As a result, Rahmah and her school were constantly monitored and surveilled by the Dutch.
One day, Diniyyah Puteri was searched by the Political Intelligence Service (PID) troops aiming to find potentially undermining information against Dutch power. The search occurred because the Dutch could no longer tolerate Diniyyah Puteri’s defiance, considering it capable of producing resilient insurgents. Rahmah El Yunusiah forbade the Dutch from searching all rooms, including the dormitories. However, she was forced into silence with a weapon pointed at her. The Dutch did not desire educated indigenous people who could potentially oppose their rule.