WOMEN OF MEXICO

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 48, 25 August 1933, Page 11

WOMEN OF MEXICO

VOTELESS BUT POWERFUL

The appointment of a woman. iii/Pre-i sident Roosevelt's Cabinet has called! attention to the fact that, although wo- j men in Mexico have not yet obtained suffrage rights, they have for some j time, been taking leading roles in gov-J cnnnontal affairs (states a correspondent). , . . , In most instances, the worjc of the women of Mexico has been' :'done indirectly, credit falling to the tnen who hold public offices. AN OUTSTANDING- FIGURE. Different from this type of public worker, and one of the outstanding sociologists of Mexico, is Mrs. Anialia do Castillo Ledon, wife of the former Governor of Ivayarit. Her husband is now Councillor of the Federal Ministry of Education and she- has. lived in Mexico City for several years. Mrs. Castillo Ledon is also a, playwright, and is a member of the PanAmerican League of Women. She speaks English fluently and has made frequent study trips to the United States. She founded the governmental

institution known as "Acciou Civiea" (Civic Action) in 192!),' after she had gained the favourable attention of President Emilio Portes Gil. The purpose of the Accion Civiea, which has grown into an interstate institution since its founding, although still supported by funds of tho Federal district, is to spread culture among the working classes. It has established "peasant ecnti'es" and "workers' centres," similar' to tho social centres and settlements in the larger cities of th 6 United States. j Tho Civic Action brought about, the establishment of reformatories for boys and girls between tile ages of six and eighteen years in Mexico City. In many cases delinquent boys and girls had been placed m tho regular gaols and prisons in association with hard' oncd offenders. "PREVESfOION SOCIAL." An institution known as ''Prevehcion Social" (Social Prevention) was also created by the Civic Action department under the guidance of this outstanding woman. Tho Prevention Social now includes such services as maintenance of a staff of psychiatrists for the guidance of children, education of tho public to jury service, and conducting an internment homo where parents may place children who otherwise- Would form tuidesirablo associations in their home neighbourhoods. This home has been a tremendous help to the poor, especially to widows who aro employed. It does not carry with it any stigma and gives social workers an opportunity to guide- any subnormal children entrusted to them, before they Have developed criminal tendencies.

Tho Accion Civiea collaborates With the War Department in education work among soldiers.