[6] Her father, Aw Seng Hoe, was the Luitenant der Chinezen of Majalengka, serving as head of the Chinese civil bureaucracy in the district from 1886 until 1904.
[3][6][5] Through her husband, Aw was also a sister-in-law of the late colonial statesman Hok Hoei Kan (whose wife was a sister of Kapitein Lie Tjian Tjoen).
[7] Together with D. van Hindeloopen Labberton and Soetan Temanggoeng, Dr. Zigman invited Aw to co-found and manage a new organization in 1912, called Ati Soetji, aimed at fighting the trafficking in Chinese women and children for prostitution and menial labor, and at giving them an education instead.
[3] She used her family's connections with the Dutch and Chinese colonial authorities, acquiring the patronage of the Governor-General, Johan Paul, Count of Limburg-Stirum and his wife, as well as the support of Khouw Kim An, 5th Majoor der Chinezen of Batavia.
[3][5] In her speech, she advocated education for impoverished young women and girls to help them attain personal and professional independence as a safeguard against human trafficking.
[3][5] The Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies from 1942 until 1945 during the Second World War marked a low point for both Ati Soetji and Aw herself.