Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) is an international organization with the stated goal of working for

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. It was established in 1945 and was most active during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

. It initially focussed on

anti-fascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

world peace World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...

, child welfare and improving the status of women. During the Cold War era, it was described as

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

-leaning and pro-

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. International Day for Protection of Children, observed in many countries as

Children's Day Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...

on June 1 since 1950, was established by the Federation at its November 1949 congress in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. The WIDF published a monthly magazine, ''Women of the Whole World,'' in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, French,

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, with occasional issues in

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

. WIDF was founded in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1945, but it was later banned by French authorities and relocated to

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

, where it was supported by the

East German East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

government. Its first president was Eugenie Cotton, and its founding members included

Tsola Dragoycheva Tsola Nincheva Dragoycheva ( bg, Цола Нинчева Драгойчева; 18 August 1898 – 26 May 1993), also known under the pseudonym Sonya, was a Bulgarian politician of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP). A member of the illegal ar ...

and

Ana Pauker Ana Pauker (born Hannah Rabinsohn; 13 February 1893 – 3 June 1960) was a Romanian communist leader and served as the country's foreign minister in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Ana Pauker became the world's first female foreign minister whe ...

. Later leaders included the Australian Freda Brown. The WIDF was one of the largest and "probably most influential international women's organizations of the post-1945 era" in the eastern bloc. At various points in its history, the WIDF enjoyed consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (

ECOSOC The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

) of the United Nations. It was at the initiation of representatives of the WIDF in the

Commission on the Status of Women The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW or UNCSW) is a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), one of the main UN organs within the United Nations. CSW has been described as the UN organ promoting gend ...

(CSW) at the United Nations that the UN declared the

International Women's Year International Women's Year (IWY) was the name given to 1975 by the United Nations. Since that year March 8 has been celebrated as International Women's Day, and the United Nations Decade for Women, from 1976 to 1985, was also established. Hist ...

in 1975. The WIDF's secretariat is located in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Philippine The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Congresswoman,

Liza Maza Liza Maza (born 8 September 1957) is a Filipina activist who was the lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission under the Duterte administration from August 2016 until her resignation in August 2018. She was a member of the Philippine ...

, is the regional coordinator of WIDF in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Cold War

During the

, the

Congress of American Women A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

was the affiliate organization of the WIDF in the United States. In 1949, members of the Congress of American Women were targeted by the Committee on Un-American Activities of the House of Representatives (

HUAC The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives, created in 1938 to investigate alleged disloy ...

). In HUAC's report, the WIDF was named as a "communist front" organization. Scholars have subsequently described the WIDF an active feminist organization advocating for women's rights, and stated that "Cold War" stereotypes continue to impact the legacy of this organization, effectively erasing it from the history of international women's movements. The WIDF played an important role in supporting women's anti-colonial struggles in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.Elisabeth Armstrong, “Before Bandung: The Anti-Imperialist Women's Movement in Asia and the Women's International Democratic Federation.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society. Winter 2016, Vol. 41 Issue 22: 305-331

Affiliates

→ *

All-China Women's Federation The All-China Women's Federation (ACWF; ) is a women's rights people's organization established in China on 24 March 1949. It was originally called the All-China Democratic Women's Foundation, and was renamed the All-China Women's Federation in ...

National Assembly of Women The National Assembly of Women (NAW) is a British women's rights organisation founded on 8 March 1952, at a meeting of almost 1,500 women from all across Great Britain. It campaigns for equal status for women and men in all aspects of life and als ...

National Federation of Indian Women The National Federation of Indian Women is a women's organisation in India, the women's wing of the Communist Party of India. It was established in 1954 June 4 by several leaders from Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti including Aruna Asaf Ali.Overstree ...

Democratic Women's League of Germany The Democratic Women's League of Germany (german: italic=no, Demokratischer Frauenbund Deutschlands, or ''DFD'') was the mass women's organisation in East Germany. It was established in March 1947 and had the following official aims: *Removal ...

National Union of Sahrawi Women The National Union of Sahrawi Women (Spanish: ''Unión Nacional de Mujeres Saharauis'', UNMS) is the women's wing of the Polisario Front. It was created in 1974, and claims to have 10,000 members, divided between the Sahrawi refugee camps, the '' ...

Women's Federation of Brazil The Brazilian Women's Federation or Women's Federation of Brazil (''Federação de Mulheres do Brasil'') was a women's organization in Brazil active between 1949 and 1957. Like several other 'leftist feminist' projects of the 1930s and 1940s in Bra ...

Footnotes

External links

Latest version of the WIDF website
(Dec.14, 2012) on the

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

. Only available in Portuguese.
Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) Records

Sophia Smith Collection The Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College is an internationally recognized repository of manuscripts, photographs, periodicals and other primary sources in women's history. General One of the largest recognized repositories of manuscripts, a ...

, Smith College Special Collections
Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) Records
at the International Institute for Social History (IISH) in the Netherlands {{Authority control International women's organizations Communist front organizations Organizations established in 1945 International organisations based in Brazil Women's wings of communist parties

Cold War

Affiliates

See also

Other post-1945 international "communist fronts"

Footnotes

Further reading

External links