Hand in hand: Saparinah (left) and senior journalist and publisher Herawati Diah (right) pose during a demonstration in front of Hotel Indonesia in this 1999 photo. (Courtesy of Saparinah)

A nation-builder and trailblazer in gender issues and human rights, Saparinah Sadli turns 90 on Wednesday, the day that also marks the first time she became involved in an award for young women leaders.

This year’s Saparinah Sadli Award, founded by Smita Notosusanto, Hermandari Kartowisastro, Mayling Oey-Gardiner, Mari Pangestu, Kristi Poerwandari, Debra Yatim, Ery Seda, Astari Rasjid and Carla Bianpoen, will go to women whose work in society is in line with Saparinah’s.

“It’s the first time I got to pick the winner, who is actively involved in eliminating child marriage. This group of teachers has contributed to the decrease of the maternal death rate where they live by disseminating information on the risks of child marriage to their students,” she said.

“I’m glad that while we highlighted the grim facts and consequences of child marriage, we also put teachers back on the pedestal after they have been overlooked all this time.”

The Saparinah Sadli Award was launched as a surprise birthday present for the former chairperson of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) when she turned 75 on Aug. 24, 2002.

Signs of aging are not evident in her, as she keeps up-to-date with current affairs and has taught herself basic skills in using new information technology.

She communicates through email from her laptop and desktop and chats with the mobile messaging tool WhatsApp.

“But that’s all. I don’t think I can handle Twitter. Too overwhelming,” she said in a recent interview at her cozy residence in the old neighborhood of Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

“Do you think these young people always looking at their phones are active readers or not? Learning and actively reading are essential for them to process the information they receive and communicate their thoughts to others. Otherwise, it is useless.”

Ibu Sap, as her colleagues and circle of friends address her, said she was still eager to learn new things or ideas; hence she kept her younger friends around.

“They will come to the house and talk about what’s happening. Although I’m not really in the conversation as I would just sit there and listen, I am often surprised by their arguments and schools of thought.

“I always thank them for letting me learn something new from them. It’s also a gesture I intentionally make to show them that we can learn many things anywhere, anytime, even from our juniors.”

Although she hasn’t done any research to support her theory, she contended that an active mind was the recipe for living healthily longer.

Among Friend: Saparinah (corner right) poses with her friends, including former First Lady Shinta Nuriyah Wahid (third left, back row) at the Presidential Palace in this 1999 photo. (Courtesy of Saparinah)

Citing an example, Ibu Sap told the story of her 87-year-old cousin, who had lost her sight due to glaucoma, which disabled her from moving around by herself.

“But otherwise she was very healthy, because she kept up-to-date by having news radio play all day around her house. She used to be a midwife, and her juniors still regularly visit her and throw birthday parties for her.

“By contrast, my sister-in-law withdrew from family and friends after my brother passed away. Her health degenerated so quickly that she died a few years after her husband.”

She said she was never lonely, despite being a widow and practically living alone, except for when her niece, who had spent a lot of time with her since school age, or other family members were around.

“I believe the existence of friends is healthy for old people,” she said. “I will write a book about how old people should live their lives. Not only women; as women were always my main subject, but in general, although statistically women live longer than men.”

Ibu Sap acknowledged that she was never a quantitative person and leaned more on logic and reasoning than on numbers to make her arguments.

This reflects even in trivial matters, such as gardening, where she always won the debate with her house helper over where to put a pot of plants or to plant flowers.

“I believe that a plant grows best in the place it loves to be. It’s been proved so many times now that the previously late-blooming plants grow big and healthy after we move them.”

Unfortunately, not all of the plants she brought from her weekend house in the resort area of Cimacan, West Java, after the passing of her husband, grew well, including her favorite yellow Allamanda.

“The house is too shaded by the trees belonging to the Jakarta administration. If I cut them, I have to pay millions of rupiah in fines.”

Leaving the house was no option, she said, even though whenever something needed fixing, she had to find repair workers skilled in old house construction.

The house was an asset of the state, lent to economy professors with the University of Indonesia back in 1962, including to her husband.

“I refused at first, because the house is too big for us. But until today I’m keeping it in its original state. We still have the first TV set that came with the house, and on our first day here, we watched the first live relay of the Asian Games sports events, which was held in Jakarta that year.”

In the 90 years of her life, she had been through two colonial eras and witnessed the rising of the independent country, but one thing never changed about her.

“When I was young, I used to ride the tram with a friend to Tanjung Priok and hitch a fishing boat to the nearest uninhabited island to snorkel, until they picked us up on their way back. But it’s been a long time I haven’t had the chance to swim, and I really want to do it again.”

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