WOMEN COMMUNISTS

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 25, 7 May 1947, Page 3

WOMEN COMMUNISTS

NATIONAL ORGANISATIONS FORMED OTHER PARTIES INCLUDED Two organisations command the loyalty of the politically minded Italian women today—the Union of Italian Women and the Italian Women’s Centre. v The former is a national organisation, formally based upon all political and non-political currents, but whose effective mainspring and control lie in the proletarian parties, especially the Communists; the latter is in competition with and opposition to the Union of Italian Women, and has as its main obect the recruitment of Roman Catholic women to help in the propaganda and activities of the Christian Democrat Party. _ Both organisations took a leading part in the campaign for the political and institutional elections for which they had already jointly, and successfuly, waged a long battle to obtain the franchise for women.

The Union of Italian Women, although based mainly on Communist members, includes also Socialists and women of other parties not based on any exclusive religious or political creed. It began nearly two years . ago, alongside the Youth Front, another Communist-sponsor-ed and dominated organisation. After serious initial difficulties, it rapidly came to the fore as an efficient and energetic machine canalising thousands of women, mainly of the working classes, into a collective participation in the reconstruction and recovery of the country. During the anti-Fascist fighting, the women of this organisation devoted themselves especially to helping the Partisans and acting as liaison between the many clandestine organisations. The record of some of these obscure women, to whatever party they happen to belong, will bear comparison with any of the feats of the most heroic patriots during the war of national liberation.

As soon as Italy, was completely liberated from the Germans, the of the tasks undertaken by the Union of Italian Women changed radically. A vast mass of unemployed workers—nearly 2,000,000, according to the latest estimates—-bombed-out families, blown-up schools, starved children, and abandoned babies needed help, education, rehousing, and feeding—and there was no lack of initiative or imagination as these women tackled these and other thorny questions. Both women’s groups helped the people of Cassino to their feet in founding schools, starting co-opera-tives and specialised work houses, making it possible for the children of poor persons to be sent to seaside colonies after long years v ff under-nourishment and tension.