SEVEN KINDS OF WOMEN: All Different But All The Same

New Zealand Listener, Volume 9, Issue 234, 17 December 1943, Page 24

SEVEN KINDS OF WOMEN:

All Different But All The Same

ID you know that no other country can compete with China for the distinction of being the nation of hen-pecked husbands; that Norwegian women smoke a lot, wear hats with evening dress, but do not favour their national costume; that Dutch women don’t leave their men alone to enjoy their after-dinner schnapps; that in some parts of Switzerland it is.compulsory for girls to take a course in managing the home and caring for babies, but that Swiss women don’t exercise the vote; that in Greece a woman’s place is still in the home, and that the men of Greece will scorn to marry a girl who has been out to work; that Belgian women are extraordinarily courageous and thrifty; and that among Russian women, the ability to kill Fascists is not merely not incompatable with the possession of womanly qualities, but is directly attributable to them? All this, and a good deal more, we learnt when, following up the impressions of Polish women by Countess Maria Wodzicka, which were published in a recent "Listener," we decided to ask women of seven different nationalities for some sidelights on the position of women in their home countries.

CHINESE E started with China. The wife of the Chinese Consul could spare us only a few minutes, so instead of an interview, she lent us a copy of a bulletin on the Status of Women in China. "In ancient China,’ so the bulletin said, "women enjoyed a good deal of freedom. History reveals that there were many outstanding personalities who achieved greatness and fame. Some were active in politics, others in social work, while the great majority were good mothers and housewives. Education, though a privilege of the aristocrats, was by no means monopolised by men, as women of that time had an equal chance to receive it. But during the Six Dynasties (265-588 A.D.) the Chinese came under the sway of Buddhistic influences and the position of women began to sink. Instead of the enviable position they used to enjoy, women became dilettanti and wittingly or unwittingly, resigned themselves to a status of dependence. But even though this state came about, the Chinese woman has always been the despot of the family. The authority of the mother and the mother-in-law is very well known. Even the wife is always the terror of the husband; no other country in the world can compete with China for the distinction of being the nation of hen-pecked husbands. To-day the outlook on life, and the social status of Chinese women has changed entirely. "No longer is second marriage considered immoral; no longer are women secluded; no longer are daughters forbidden to inherit properties. Instead, we see women participating in political campaigns, in social activities, in research projects, in field works, in military tasks, in factories, and in government offices. Above all, we see women moving about with a newly-awakened sense of responsibility." * NORWEGIAN MUCH-TRAVELLED young Norwegian woman introduced us to Norway. Yes, she had travelled, but then all Norwegian women like to travel, she told us. Most things in Norway are on a scientific basis, we were told. Even housewives are encouraged to be scientific by attending special schools. Girls in offices are expected to have a working knowledge of two or three languages. "When we go out for the evening we rarely. . have organised games and competitions. The evening passes too quickly with discussions. Which is what we like, because there is so much we are all interested in and want to discuss." . "Have you the vote?" we asked her.

"Yes, Norwegian women vote after they have completed their 23rd year. We have complete equality with men and all careers are open to us. But married women put their homes first. They take their homes very seriously, and especially do they look upon entertaining as a very important business. But of course one of the most important things iri Norway is outdoor life and sport. Children are given skis from the time they can walk. Everyone goes walking and ski-ing, and a feeling of cameraderie exists between the sexes because of the mixed sport." Before the war Norway had an equivalent of the WAAC and WAAF organisations. It was called the "Lotte" and the members wore a military uniform. It was, of course, only part-time work. The girls took this organisation very seriously and attended regular camps for training, which included nursing, cooking, general army duties, etc. "Norwegian women are not all tall and fair. There are all types," we were told, The city women smoke a lot, but drunkenness among women is never seen. "One thing that is different from New Zealand is that we always wear hats with our evening dresses when we go to the theatre or to concerts. Then in the foyer we take off our hats and our coats and leave them there. And there is one thing that annoys us intensely in foreign films. Every time a picture is shown of Norway, the women are portrayed in national costumes. No women wear the national costume in Norway at all now; in fact, the Norwegian women are considered among the best-dressed modern women in Europe."

DUTCH WE were given a glimpse of Holland by a university woman-a law student before she married. "The Dutch women," she said, "have been more fortunate than many other women, because they have always been free in their movements; they have taken part in their husband’s businesses for generations. In 1870 the first Dutch women enrolled at a University and obtained her degree in 1879, and since that time ‘thousands of women have passed through the universities and entered professional life. After marriage they continue with their professional life. You see, domestic help is relatively easy to get. And no one does her own washing in the citiesit is cheaper to send it away to be laundered and ironed. Then city women don’t bake their own cakes, either, they buy what they need. But then Dutch people don’t eat as many sweet things as New Zealanders. They eat more fruit and vegetables. This freedom from housework leaves the women with plenty of spare time, and they use this time in pursuing their professions. Women can be found in every branch of professional life in Holland, though I haven’t yet heard of women judges there. The suffrage movement started in 1870, and by 1917 women had obtained the right to sit in Parliament. .The right to vote was granted in 1919," There is also more in their equality with men than equal politicaul rights. There is no discrimination at all. "Women don’t join separate social clubs; they don’t go off and have separate functions. They do, however, launch their own social and political campaigns. "One of the things which struck me when I first left Holland was the way women in some British countries leave the dining-room immediately after dinner to go into the drawing-room, while the men stay on in the dining-room and enjoy themselves. In Holland we’d stay together." Perhaps the reason for all this, it was suggested, was co-education. "Boys and girls grow up together with a perfectly natural outlook about one another."

SWISS N Switzerland, we were told by Mrs, Schmid, wife of the Swiss Consul, the "balance of power" between men and women has typical Western European features. "As in all European countries belonging to this group, the compromise or degree of inequality reached between the two sexes has qa many-centuries-old history of slowly developing culture and civilisation, compared with conditions in the newer countries of the world. The picture is, therefore, a mixture of both old and new ideas." Women have the same educational and vocational opportunities as men. "The ultimate aim of most girls in Switzerland is to be good wives and mothers, and great importance is placed on educating them along these lines. There are special schools for this purpose, and in some parts of Switzerland it is compulsory for girls, up to the age of 16, to take a course of household management, including the care of babies and home nursing. Indeed, housekeeping in Switzerland is looked upon as an art." Therefore the home comes before a career, although numerous Swiss women hold resrofrisible positions. "My impression is that women in Switzerland have an easier life, on the whole, than women in New Zealand. This is greatly helped by the modernising of the houses, and labour-saving appliances among all classes of the population. In addition, domestic help is much easier to obtain than in New Zealand, although most of these household helps, prior tu the war, came from adjacent countries, because the Swiss girls available to do this work are mostly employed in the innumerable tourist hotels, some of which are vast establishments." On the other hand, one of the conservative features of Switzerland is the political standing of women. "It comes as a great surprise to many foreigners to learn that in Switzerland, which is recognised as a most democratically governed country, women have neither the political vote nor representation. In common with other countries, though, Swiss women have taken part in the movement for emancipation, but this movement has never attained the. aggressiveness and the weight which were apparent in other countries." Mrs. Schmid also’ told us something of the part women are taking, at the present time, in the activities of the International Red Cross, which is in the hands of a Committee in Geneva, of which some outstanding members are Swiss women. The activities of this organisation have assumed such vast proportions that the whole Swiss people have to assist in the performance of this duty, which, of course, affords great opportunities to the women. In addition, their helping hand is stretched out to the many refugees who have come to Switzerland, and to starving European children who are given sanctuary and convalescence in Switzerland. "We look upon our work there as a thanks-token and the performance of a humanitarian duty. It is an expression of our thank- . fulness to Providence which has, so far, spared Switzerland from the ravages of war." (continued on next page)

WOMEN OF SEVEN NATIONS

' (continued from previous page)

| GREEK A MAN explained the position of Greek women, for Mrs. Garland, wife of the Consul, does not speak English freely, and Mr. Garland spoke for her. "In Greece," he explained, "a woman’s first duty is to preserve her honour, her next to look after her home." Greek women do not, in general, go out to work; it is duty of the brother to support his sisters, of the husband to support his wife. Very poor girls from the Islands may take jobs on the mainland somttimes, but as soon as possible the brothers contrive to bring them home again. Women attend to all that concerns the home-sewing, cooking, gardening and so on-and the men attend to everything else in the community. Of recent years, some modern women have begun to work in shops. But though the women don’t go out to work, they are still able to earn money-they sew for neighbours, they make lace, weave sheets and blankets, paint, do tapestry, make carpetsbut everything they do, they do at home. They may go out to fit their clients, then they come home again to sew. They are world-famed for their needlework. "A Greek man," said Mr. Garland, "doesn’t want to marry a girl who has been out to work. She has no esteem." As far as education is concerned, the lot of the girls is the same as that of the boys, though girls seldom go further than high school. Of course a few go to universities and take up a professional life. But Greek women have no standing in political life, nor do they interfere in the social life of the community. "The sexes. are not encouraged to mix. Girls have their entertainments, boys have theirs. If they should need to meet, then a chaperon must be present. If a young woman should be seen out with a young man, she would be classed as a bad _ girl." "How do girls meet their husbands then?" we asked him. ; "By introductions in their own circles, The parents arrange the marriages, but they never force them, Girls are, as a tule, prepared to be guided by their parents, and marriages are usually successful. Divorce is almost unknown in our country."

BELGIAN HE Belgian Consul gave us a bulletin on Women of Belgium, which seems to suggest that they have had equal privileges with men for 600 years. The Flemish poet Jacob van Maerlant (he died about 1300), came to the following conclusions (according to this | bulletin): "By nature women are They are like wine and fire. If you take too much wine or if you come too close to the fire, you’re bound to hurt yourself." Van Maerlant’s influence on other writers and poets was so strong that one would scarcely find an unkind word about womanhood in the Flemish authors from then on. In the 16th century foreigners marvelled that Belgian women were allowed to do business exactly like men, and that in most of the households they used to run the finances, and did very well at it, too, The strength of their position in the household can be felt very clearly by looking at the family portraits of the Renaissance. Invariably husband and wife face the onlooker on the same level, The children stand between them or play in front of them. A little bit in the background, but dominating the scene by her sheer youthful loveliness, stands the housemaid, carrying fruit and flowers: an unconscious challenge to the ageing wife who calmly and with perfect poise, ignores it. ... "The most outstanding praise that has been given the Belgian womenaside from the usual compliments about their beauty, their complexion, and their eyes-is praise of their courage and their thriftiness. All the authors agree on the fact that the Belgian women know how to make both ends meet, and when their enthusiasm is. at a peak, they deciare: "As far as their character is concerned, they are able to behave and act like men,’" Be a * RUSSIAN [AST of all we saw a young Russian woman, who told us that women in the U.S.S.R. have complete equality in every sphere of life, and the practical opportunities to use this equality. "While there is undoubtedly a strong admiration of Soviet women among the Allied ‘peoples, one cannot help noticing the prevailing impression that because Soviet women work in heavy industry, occupy high executive positions, and are guerillas and snipers in this war, they must be manlike. Actually, it is only because tenderness, pity, and womanliness are so highly developed in Soviet women, that they are able to kill men in war. A lonely woman on a distant farm must kill a gangster who threatens. the life of her children if she is to save them, and in the same way a Soviet woman knows that if she loves the children and wants them to have a happy life, she must destroy those who kill and torture these children. Don’t think, when you hear about a Soviet woman sniper and guerilla, that she is a strange masculine creature, She is probably a warm, living human being-a woman in whom love and tenderness were so absorbing that they gave her endurance and strength to destroy the enemy, in the name of life and happiness of those she loves."