The Indonesian Women's Congress (), often known by its Indonesian acronym Kowani, is a federation of Indonesian women's organizations which was founded in 1946. Its headquarters are located in Jakarta. The name also refers to national congresses which have taken place regularly since 1928. Since its founding the Congress has included women from various political and religious backgrounds; it has generally allowed independence and autonomy for its member organizations.
History
Colonial era
Various organizations of native Indonesian women arose during the early twentieth century while Indonesia was still part of the Dutch East Indies; these include the , founded in 1917 and affiliated with Muhammadiyah, and , founded in 1912 and associated with the Budi Utomo movement. With the rise in Indonesian nationalism following the Youth Pledge of 1928, and increasing efforts to unify all the various groups of the nationalist movement, the first Indonesian Women's Congress took place on 22 December 1928 in Yogyakarta. This first Congress was chaired by Raden Ayu Soekanto and attended by 600 or so delegates, mostly members of . 20 or 30 other groups also sent delegates, including (Catholic women), , and (Taman Siswa women); organizations from Sumatra and other more remote parts of the Indies sent their support by telegram. At that meeting a federation was established to unite the various independent native women's groups in the colony; it was called the (PPPI, or Organization of Indonesian Women's Associations). A major topic of the Congress was marriage and how to improve women's condition in it. At the Congress there were also proposals to establish a girls' education fund, promote hygiene education, to found a girl scout organization and to combat child marriage.
The second congress was held in Batavia in December 1929; this time, over 50 organizations sent delegates, including male-run groups such as Jong Java, and the organization was renamed (PPII, or Organization of Indonesian Wives' Associations). The federation also launched an Indonesian-language publication called ('wife') which had around 700 subscribers. Tensions between federation members who wanted an explicitly nationalist platform and those who wanted to remain apolitical continued to develop. In the months after the 1929 conference, a faction emerged with a more working-class and left-wing orientation called Isteri-Sedar ('conscious wives'). That group, officially founded in March 1930, chafed at the PPII's caution and conservatism and called for a more radical approach; its organization eventually split with the PPII.
At the December 1930 Women's Congress in Surabaya, which participated in, it was decided that the PPII would support Indonesian nationalist politics and the struggle for liberation from Dutch rule, although the organization still maintained some pretenses at being apolitical. The next year the PPII sent delegates, including Maria Ulfah Santoso, to the All-Asian Women's Conference in Lahore in 1931. ( also sent delegates to the Lahore conference, and enraged Muslim members of the PPII by comments they made there which were deemed to be anti-religious.) The next Women's Congress was held in 1932 in Surakarta. At their 1935 meeting in Batavia (now Jakarta), the name of the group was changed once again to (Indonesian Women's Congress). At that meeting the topic of marriage was again discussed at length and the possibility of improving women's status within the framework of Islamic law was studied. The group met once again in Bandung in 1938, where it once again asserted the centrality of the national struggle against the Dutch.
During World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, the Congress ceased operations due to the strict political control by the Japanese. Clandestine or informal connections continued during this time but the group did not meet officially.