Ratna Indraswari Explained

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Ratna Indraswari (24 April 1949 – 28 March 2011), nicknamed the Queen of the Bees, was an Indonesian poet, author, and human rights activist. Paralyzed since the age of 10, she composed more than 400 short stories and novels during her life, including socially and critically engaged works such as the environmentalist Lemah Tanjung (2003). Furthermore, she was a notable figure in the Indonesian feminist and democratic movement.

Her work, primarily composed of short stories, focuses on female figures, their journeys, and their ways of resisting power. It is described as oral literature because she dictated all her works.

Biography

Birth and youth

Ratna Indraswari was born in Malang on 24 April 1949.[1] She was the youngest of six children.[2] Both her parents, Saleh Ibrahim and Siti Bidasari binti Arifin, were Minangkabau, although they lived in Malang, which is not predominantly Minangkabau. Her father, Saleh Ibrahim, encouraged her to read[3] and obtained numerous books for her, which she read, thus familiarizing herself with literature from an early age. She became tetraplegic at the age of 10 after a prolonged fever and illness related to rickets.

After attending Christian primary school, junior high, and high school in Malang, she began studies at the faculty of business administration at Brawijaya University, but she quickly abandoned them.

Literary career and commitments

In 1974, she began writing with the help of an assistant who transcribed what she dictated, thus managing to produce her works. The fact that she had to dictate to write led her to describe her own work as "oral literature". An extremely prolific author, she began publishing in 1974 and never stopped, mostly producing short stories, but also novels and poetry. It is estimated that Indraswari created at least 400 different literary works.

Alongside her artistic and literary activities, she became involved in the human rights movement[4] by joining various Indonesian organizations in the 1970s and 1980s. By 1980, she was appointed president of the Bhakti Nurani Association for the disabled. In 2000, she became head of research and development for the Kean 'Payung' Association. Her activism took her abroad, including trips to the United States and China to attend feminist and women's rights gatherings such as the Women's Congress. She also won several awards, including one from Femina magazine.

Her commitment to democracy led to surveillance by the Indonesian authorities; in 1998, during the May 1998 riots of Indonesia, her house was searched by Indonesian intelligence services looking for hidden individuals, without success.

She was sometimes nicknamed "Ratu Lebah", which means "queen of the bees". In 2003, she published Lemah Tanjung, which discusses a corrupt real estate project destroying the environment in Indonesia. Before publishing the book, she participated in protests against the project, despite being limited by her tetraplegia.

Her last novel, 1998, completed before her death but published posthumously, revisits the 1998 riots.[5] Indraswari died from the complications of a stroke on 28 March 2011.[6]

Posterity

The author was read in some Indonesian schools in the early 2020s.[7]

Analysis

Her feminist commitments are reflected in her literature,[8] [9] [10] with her stating that she was inspired by Virginia Woolf. Her work is credited with being able to problematize the issue of women's conditions and suggest ways to overcome them.[11]

The religiosity of women in her work is also a subject studied by researchers.[12] [13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Artikel "Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim" – Ensiklopedia Sastra Indonesia . 2024-07-22 . ensiklopedia.kemdikbud.go.id . 2023-07-19 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230719151856/https://ensiklopedia.kemdikbud.go.id/sastra/artikel/Ratna_Indraswari_Ibrahim . live .
  2. Web site: Pratama . Andika Yudhistira . 2023-07-10 . Dari Kursi Roda, Ratna Indraswari Mengabarkan Realitas Sosial . 2024-07-22 . tirto.id . id . 2023-07-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230715212134/https://tirto.id/dari-kursi-roda-ratna-indraswari-mengabarkan-realitas-sosial-gMMj . live .
  3. Web site: 2010-11-30 . Keseharian Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim . 2024-07-22 . BBC News Indonesia . id . 2017-12-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171217113259/http://www.bbc.com/indonesia/multimedia/2010/12/101130_fotoratnaibrahim . live .
  4. Web site: Widianto . Eko . 2024-06-05 . Tahlil dan Doa selama 40 Hari untuk mendiang Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim . 2024-07-22 . Terakota . id . 2024-07-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240722102101/https://www.terakota.id/tahlil-dan-doa-selama-40-hari-untuk-mendiang-ratna-indraswari-ibrahim/ . live .
  5. Web site: Kompasiana.com . 2015-04-14 . Membaca Karya Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim di Malang . 2024-07-22 . KOMPASIANA . id . 2024-07-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240722102114/https://www.kompasiana.com/kurakurabiru/5535acbf6ea8346b1dda42df/membaca-karya-ratna-indraswari-ibrahim-di-malang . live .
  6. Web site: JPNN . 2024-07-22 . www.jpnn.com . id . 2018-06-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180604180321/https://www.jpnn.com/news/obituari-ratna-indraswari-penulis-handal-yang-tak-menyerah-dengan-keterbatasannya . live .
  7. Web site: Santri Darul Ulum Pasuruan Baca Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim . 2024-07-22 . NU Online . id-id . 2024-07-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240722102120/https://www.nu.or.id/daerah/santri-darul-ulum-pasuruan-baca-ratna-indraswari-ibrahim-Sel7r . live .
  8. NIDN 0004057002 DIAH ARIANI ARIMBI, « Les Femmes Indonesiennes Dans Les Nouvelles De Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim », Le Banian 22, décembre 2016, p. 118–128

    https://repository.unair.ac.id/86457/5/09.%20Les%20Femmes%20Indonesiennes%20Fulltext.pdf

  9. Amin . Risma . 2024-02-20 . Gender Analysis of "Lakon Di Kota Kecil": The Short Story Collection by Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim as a Feminist Literature Study of the Indonesian Moslem Writer's Literary Work . JOEY: Journal of English Ibrahimy . en . 3 . 1 . 12–25 . 10.35316/joey.2024.v3i1.12-25 . 2024-07-22 . 2828-2078 . 2024-07-22 . 2024-07-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240722102259/https://journal.ibrahimy.ac.id/index.php/JOEY/article/view/4339 . live .
  10. Yulianti . Eka . Sugerman . Sugerman . Suryaningsih . Lili . 2021-08-31 . Sikap Perempuan dalam Kumpulan Cerpen pada karya Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim dengan Kajian Feminisme dan Implementasinya dalam Pembelajaran sastra di SMA . Ainara Journal (Jurnal Penelitian Dan PKM Bidang Ilmu Pendidikan) . en . 2 . 3 . 262–267 . 10.54371/ainj.v2i3.90 . 2746-7767 . 2024-07-22 . 2024-06-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240610115950/http://journal.ainarapress.org/index.php/ainj/article/view/90 . live .
  11. Fathoni . Moh . Almalachim . Ainul Churria . 2022-12-12 . The Problematic Representation of Women: An Analysis of Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim's Literary Text . An-Nisa Journal of Gender Studies . en . 15 . 2 . 127–136 . 10.35719/annisa.v15i2.79 . 2024-07-22 . 2654-4784 . 2024-07-22 . 2023-09-07 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230907212500/https://annisa.uinkhas.ac.id/index.php/annisa/article/view/79 . live .
  12. Hw . Muhammad Rosyid . 2021-11-02 . Religiusitas Perempuan dalam Cerpen-Cerpen Ratna Indraswari Ibrahim . Madah: Jurnal Bahasa dan Sastra . en . 12 . 2 . 238–250–238–250 . 10.31503/madah.v12i2.399 . 2580-9717 . 2024-07-22 . 2022-07-28 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220728085108/https://madah.kemdikbud.go.id/index.php/madah/article/view/399 . live . free .
  13. Reading the writings of contemporary Indonesian Muslim women writers: representation, identity and religion of Muslim women in Indonesian fictions . UNSW Sydney . 2006 . Thesis . English . Diah Ariani . Arimbi . 1959.4/25498 . 2024-07-22 . 2024-07-22 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240722102755/https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/handle/1959.4/25498 . live .

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