Gender, Class, and Historical Recognition: S.K. Trimurti and Marsinah in Indonesian Women’s Historiography

Abstrak

This article examines the representation of S.K. Trimurti and Marsinah in Indonesian women’s historiography, focusing on gender and class biases and the elite-centered orientation of national historical narratives. Using qualitative historical research and library research, the study analyzes scholarly works, historical books, biographies, media archives, textbooks, and official state documents through women’s history, political history, and feminist historiography. The findings indicate that women’s inclusion in Indonesian national historiography is shaped not only by gender but also by social class, political access, and proximity to state institutions. S.K. Trimurti has been more readily incorporated into national narratives because her activism was closely connected to the independence movement, journalism, political organizations, labor activism, and government institutions. Marsinah, by contrast, emerged from the working class during the New Order and was initially represented primarily through labor conflict, political repression, human rights discourse, and public memory rather than formal national historiography. Her recognition as a National Hero in 2025 expands the symbolic boundaries of state recognition but does not necessarily indicate structural transformation in the representation of working-class women. The comparison demonstrates the need for Indonesian women’s historiography to move beyond exceptional or elite women toward greater attention to working-class and marginalized historical actors.