R. A. Kartini The Heroine

"Sometimes, you should go through hardship first before the complete happiness comes to you." - R. A. Kartini

 Raden Adjeng Kartini was an Indonesian national heroine from Java.  She is known as the pioneer of the rebirth of the indigenous women in Indonesia. She was born on 21 April 1879, Jepara, Indonesia. She came from a noble family. Kartini was the daughter of R.M. Sosroningrat and M.A Ngasirah. She was the eldest daughter among her sisters from her biological mother. Before she was 12 years old, she was allowed to go to school in ELS (Europese Lagere School) and there, Kartini learned Dutch and she could speak Dutch fluently. But when she was 12 years old, she had to quit studying because "Pingit". "Pingit" is a rule of Javanese custom that prohibit woman to go outside before she is married.

Kartini decided to gather books and magazines and she read them in the garden. Therefore, reading became her hobby and she did not go a day without reading. Finally, on 1903 she was married to Raden Adipati Joyodiningrat. After married, she never stopped learning. When she was reading books and magazines, she discovered a great difference between European women's life and Indonesian women. European women live in a freedom and they have the same position with men, while Indonesian women live under men's power. Because of that, Kartini made a conclusion that Indonesian women's life should have changed. She began with gathering her female friends to teach them. She taught them how to write and read. Kartini wrote letters to her friends from Netherlands. One of her friends is Rosa Abendanon which strongly supported Kartini.

Because Kartini's presistence, many female schools were built such as in Semarang, Yogyakarta, Malang, Madiun, and other areas. The name of these school was "Sekolah Kartini". There was Kartini Foundation too. Her popularity did not make Kartini arrogant. She stayed well-mannered, honored the family and the everyone else, and she did not distinguish between the rich and the poor.

On 13th September 1904, Kartini passed away several days after giving birth to her first and last child named R.M. Soesalit. She was 25 years old that time. Although she passed away, her spirit and brilliant ideas remain alive and inspire Indonesian women to reach freedom and the same position with men. After Kartini passed away, Mr. J. H. Abendanon published kartini's letters in a book. The book was entitled "DOOR DUISTERNIS TOT LICHT", it means "From darkness to light" or "Habis gelap terbitlah terang". And now, the day of Kartini's birth, 21 April, is commemorated as the public holiday, known as "Hari Kartini".


https://drive.google.com/open?id=1xz6nyuVhZT_RQ9Y9rcuwB4MubvEKuZcF


Questions:
What is the meaning of "pioneer"?
What is the title of Kartini's book?
What is "pingit"?
What is the meaning of "conclusion"?
What is the meaning of "distinguish"?


Resource:
https://myhero.com/Kartini_stursula_indonesia_06
http://mrhariz.over-blog.com/2016/06/biography-ra-kartini.html
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Raden-Adjeng-Kartini