Ode to Kartini

As I read the story of Kartini, I found myself agreeing with her beliefs. I loved what she said, “Are we fine women of no use to civilization?” Even though a lot has changed since Kartini’s time, in some countries and/or cultures men still believe that women are subordinate to them, do not deserve to have an education, and do not have a say in whom we should marry. I came from a country where men think women are to obey them and not think for themselves. While I personally would have had the opportunity to choose my husband, I was not encouraged to go to college and get an education like my brother did. I was expected to marry at a young age, obey my husband, not have an opinion of my own, and bear his children. Yes, you read that right. Once married, our children would not have been considered ours, but his. Kartini would say that this is unacceptable, and I would agree with her. I could not ever imagine what Kartini must have felt when she found out that she was to marry a much older and polygamous man. The thought of it makes me angry and sad. It also saddened me that her dreams of opening a school for girls were never realized while she was still alive. But the silver lining in this story is that we now know of her and that because her writings became known in Indonesia that a number of “Kartini schools” (Strayer & Nelson, 727) were established in her memory.