Celebrating Kartini Day 2015

 

Written on:  April 2015

 

In Indonesia, we celebrate Kartini’s Day on 21 April. Raden Ajeng Kartini was born about one and a half centuries ago on 21st April, and she was one of the country's national heroes and a pioneer in the emancipation of Indonesian women.

Primary schools and kindergartens in Indonesia, every year, celebrates Kartini’s Day by asking their students to come and wear Indonesian traditional clothes and costume, and As Sakinah Education Center for Early Childhood  (“PAUD” in Indonesian) was not an exception. From morning, the mothers were already busy preparing their children to look nice, especially the ones with daughters, since most of them needed to have their daughter’s hair done.

Bu Haji, our nickname for Mrs. Lisma, was also busy preparing costumes for Barkah and Gilang. Since after the Morning Prayer, she had been busy altering the clothes and shortening trousers, because apparently they borrowed trousers from the bigger children. Barkah was wearing traditional clothes of West Sumatra and Gilang was set with Maduranese clothes.

 

PAUD As Sakinah was packed that day. The children and teachers were singing Kartini Song and dancing together. Then, the most awaited part of the day… the village-wide parade! Yes, after the singing and dancing, the children walked around the village wearing their costumes hand in hand with their teachers and parents, looking proud to be Indonesians.