Nawawi was born in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, then part of the Dutch East Indies.

She was the daughter of Nawawi Soetan Makmoer, himself a strong advocate for educational reform in Sumatra.

She moved to Battavia and worked as a teacher, eventually marrying Wiranatakusumah V. The couple had three children before Wiranatakusumah divorced Nawawi in 1924, an act which caused a minor scandal; Nawawi's daughter, Mien Soedarpo (1924–2013) would become a prominent independence activist.

She had her children educated at the elite Koning Willem III School te Batavia.

[2] During World War II and the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, she joined the Buddhist Women's Association.