Maria Gabriella Baers (20 September 1883 – 30 December 1959) was a Belgian senator, feminist, and trade unionist. Baers was the founder of Nationaal Verbond der Christelijke Vrouwengilden (''National Union of Christian Women's Guilds''. nowadays: ). In 1936, Baers and were the first women senators in Belgium. In 1945, she became the first women Secretary of the Senate, and the first chairwomen of a parliamentary commission.

Biography

Baers was born on 20 September 1883 in Antwerp. She went to high school at the Sœurs of Notre-Dame and was therefore fluent in both

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. She studied social sciences at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

. In 1908, Baers joined the local women union in Antwerp for lace workers and glove makers. In 1912, Baers and founded the Algemeen Secretariaat der Christelijke Vrouwenvakverenigingen (''General Secretary of Christian Women Unions''). Baers moved to

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, and in 1920 founded the Nationaal Verbond der Christelijke Vrouwengilden (''National Union of Christian Women's Guilds''), an emancipated movement for working-class women which is nowadays called . Baers would head the organisation until 1951. In 1936, Baers was elected to the

Belgian Senate The Senate ( nl, Senaat, ; french: Sénat, ; german: Senat) is one of the two chambers of the bicameral Federal Parliament of Belgium, the other being the Chamber of Representatives. It is considered to be the "upper house" of the Federal Parlia ...

and remain a senator until 1954. Baers and were the first women senators in Belgium. Baers would remain senator during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She wanted to prevent

forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

of Belgian women in Germany. Together with J. Vervaeck of the Ministry of Labour, they managed to stop deportation of women under the age of 24, however Baers continued to increase pressure. On 22 March 1943, all deportations of women ended. In 1945, Baers became the first women Secretary of the Senate, and became Chairperson of the Parliamentary Commission on Health. On 30 December 1959, Baers died in Brussels at the age of 76. In 1998, the

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

of the

Flemish Community The Flemish Community ( nl, Vlaamse Gemeenschap ; french: Communauté flamande ; german: Flämische Gemeinschaft ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilitie ...

was named after Maria Baers.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baers, Maria 1883 births 1959 deaths Women members of the Senate (Belgium) Christian Social Party (Belgium, defunct) politicians Belgian feminists Politicians from Antwerp Belgian trade unionists University of Freiburg alumni