WOMEN IN RUSSIA

Evening Star, Issue 19804, 1 March 1928, Page 12

WOMEN IN RUSSIA

" FREEDOM " FROM DOMESTICITY The manner in which the conditions of women in Soviet Russia have been ameliorated held delegates to a meeting of the Sydney Trades and Labor Council spellbound when they were explained by ‘‘Comrade” Wright, who recently delivered a lecture upon pre-sent-day Russian conditions (reports the ‘Sydney Alorning Herald 1 ). “ _\o longer arc the women slaves to the washtub and the stove,” said the lecturer. ‘‘They arc now independent of their husbands, and arc being trained to take their place in industry. Avenues previously closed to them' are. now upon—you sec them as tram drivers and tram conductors, and so on. They arc privileged to do any work that men do; that is, with the exception of such work that only men are physically capable of undertaking.” (Applause.) In some parts, the women hail been the prey of remarkable superstitions, said Mr Wright, hut thesewere being dissipated. For instance, in ono pari women were torludden to leave liion homes without their husbands’ permission. But the Soviet had altered that. They wore now free to go out and work. , The lecturer said lie thought that peril ai is Australian workers were being misled by what they wore reading concerning tiic ‘‘ inss about Trotsky. But that was a matter that was relatively unimportant and had only arisen since the Soviet had granted the right of private trading. The Trotsky section had believed that this was a reversion to capitalism, but it was proving to be the very opposite in its result. The social State was becoming stronger, wealthier, more snccesslnl, as tho years went by, and was able to grapple with the tremendous problems that confronted it. Mr Wright said that lie laid found the peasants, wiio comprised 120,000,000 out of the total population of 143,500,000 people, backward and illiterate. They wore being trained as rapidly as possible in modern agricultural "methods, and were being taught to read and write. The franchise had been extended tremendously. The speaker expressed himself as being enamoured of tho system of social insurance, which provided for payment in the event of sickness,' accident, and death without any contribution being made by the worker. But he admitted that the unemployment problem was acute. Young peasants—“and the peasants wore living in beggary ” —were attracted to the cities by . the better conditions enjoyed by workers in industry. This aggravated the unemployment position. Industrial workers received unemployment payments, but not the peasants. “To give thorn unemployment, relief would be impossible,” said the. speaker. ‘‘Thev would all be wanting it.”