WOMEN'S CHARTER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 810, 6 May 1910, Page 3

WOMEN'S CHARTER.

■ FOB BETTERMENT 03? WTEES. ■A'few weeks ago Si* Charles M.P;, introduced into the House of Commons a> series of Bills embodying a number of the. reforms contained in the .Women's Charter of Eights and Liberties.

This charter was drawn up by Lady McLaren, and was. presented first at theInternational Women's Suffrage Con- . gress. Since then, it has not only been the. subject of- much discussion, in this country, but has been the germ of an international' movement. Women in many foreign countries are working together to' establish: a common "platform" of proposals and.reforms of vital importance to themsevles and the community. Among other, important changes, the new Bills propose to establish:— . (1) That;a wife shall have a right to maintenance from her husband, without the intervention'. of the Poor-IaTC Guardians, if-she has, no other meansof support and is'debarred from earning her Dwn ■ living through having the care of young, children. . . ■, (2) A wife who devotes her whole time to housekeeping and the care of the children shall havo a claim upon her liusland.<during, his life, or upon Tlis estate after his death,.-for a sum calculated on a scale not' exceeding the wages .of a housekeeper'in- her station of life, proTided , she-lias not received any other personal-allowance. •' .■'•.' (3) The divorce law 6hall be amended so esfo alipw either husband or wife to obtain a divorce •on the ground, of unfaithfulness alone.

(i) Fathers and mothers shall. be joint guardians of their ohildren. .'

(5) The ancient right of wives to dower shall be restored'; and wives shall be put in a .more equal position tn cases"" of intestacy. .- . . ■

: (6) No woman otherwise qualified fthall be exoluded by sex or marriage from exercising: the Parliamentary franchise. Other interesting .sections deal with the age.of marriage of girls, the prevention of immorality, the need for more adequate •■ educational' opportunities . for girls, a municipal supply of milk for infants and young children, and'the establishment of creches and playgrounds and. inexpensive eating houses. The idea in introducing these Bills into Parliament, said Lady M'Laren, is simply to bring these questions forward and to provide a basis tor discussion. I lave spoken at a very large number of meetings in. different parts of the country on tho subject of these reforms, and they have met with the most widespread support. The meetings have been women's meetings, but men have been .present Ij ' riia'y" say—it is of .special interestaf this moment—that only one man at all these meetings attempted to, defend the inequality ,of the sexes in divorce. '" ;Whieh' : ''do' I tliink the most vital re-: frinnf That is difficult U) say when so much is vital. ,But this question of mothers being joint guardians of their children, is specially important. The fact ■ that, the father is now sole guardian gives unjust, men ononuoue nowet ovei their wives; they can exercise such power over them through the children.

Then, .on the question of inheritance, I believe England is the only European country where the widow has no legal claim on her husband's estate; he can, if .he chooses, leave her , absolutely penniless. .

I should like .to point out, continued lady Jl'taren, that tho suggestions lor creches and playrooms are not Socialistic, as 60mn pt<ii>lfc Imagine, bat lutnti cooperative. No. womaa cau satisfactorily look after four or five children, or even after one baby, if she has to do also all the. work of the house, all the scrubbing, sewing, washing, all the shopping, and so on. In Berlin and Paris my views are successfully carried oat. •' Of course, she oan let the baby play in the gutter, bnt that is not looking after it properly. The creche would be a safe place, where she could leave the little one, not necessarily for a whole day—uiilesa, ot course, she was working for a living—but for two or three hours, while she got through her other work. Now you see mothers dragging babies about everywhere; and it is bad for them and the children,, too.

Women are putting forward this charter—and women in many other countries are working on similar lines—to show what their needs are. We want to drawinen's attention to them, because we believe they are willing to do women justice, once they understand. ,