Background
She was born in Maninjau, Agam Regency, close to the town of Bukittinggi in West Sumatra.
She was born in Maninjau, Agam Regency, close to the town of Bukittinggi in West Sumatra.
She was imprisoned for a period for her activities by the Dutch in 1932 in Semarang in Central Java. Like the well-known Indonesian female leader Raden Ayu Kartini, Rasuna Said fought for equality between men and women. She was declared a National Hero of Indonesia (Pahlawan Nasional) by president Soeharto in 1974.
Her name is currently used as one of the main arteries of Jakarta, Jalan Hassaram Rijhumal Rasuna Said, which runs south from the central district of Menteng towards the busy commercial areas of Kuningan and Mampang.
Rasuna Said is buried in the Kalibata Heroes Cemetery in South Jakarta.
After the proclamation of Indonesian independence in 1945 she became a member of the Sumatra Representative Council (Dewan Perwakilan Sumatra). In 1959 she was appointed a member of the Indonesian National Advisory Council (Dewan Pertimbangan Agung), a position she held until her death in Jakarta in 1965.