Women's National Council ( cs, Ženská národní rada (ŽNR)), 1923–1942, was the only women's
umbrella organization
An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...
in
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
and only official women's collective which existed in the country until after 1990. As such, it was the most significant feminist organization in the
interwar period
In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...
. Founded by
Františka Plamínková
Františka Plamínková (1875–1942) was a Czech feminist and suffrage activist. Trained as a teacher, she became involved in feminism because teachers were forbidden to marry. She transitioned into journalism, writing articles about inequality. ...
, its members strove for reform of marriage laws and employment restrictions of women, which they believed had been promised by the equality mandate in the new constitution.
History
After the founding of the
Czechoslovak Republic
Czechoslovak Republic (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá republika, ČSR''), was the official name of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1939 and between 1945 and 1960. See:
*First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1938)
*Second Czechoslovak Republic ...
in 1918 and passage of its
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
in 1920, Františka Plamínková, a politician who recognized the need for an effective lobbying group for women's issues, established the Women's National Council (ŽNR) in 1923. Throughout the life of the organization, Plamínková served as the president. The governing documents of the ŽNR were approved by the Ministry of the Interior on 24 February 1923, and soon after its formation joined the
International Council of Women
The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., with ...
and the
International Woman Suffrage Alliance
The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...
. The organization was established as an umbrella organization to unite other women's organizations in gaining political and civic equality for women. Established in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, with a branch office in
Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
, by 1935, they had fifty affiliated organizations and some 2,200 members without regard to creed, nationality or political affiliation. Most of the affiliated organizations were professional organizations of civil servants, social workers and teachers, with membership among the educated middle class. Because the organization focused on Czech women and meetings and correspondence was in
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
, women identifying as German or Slovak rarely joined, though the Slovak network,
Živena and several German and Jewish organizations were members. The organization's leadership was staunchly
anti-clerical
Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...
, which often precluded Catholic women's organizations from participating. Politically, the membership included members of the
Agrarian Party,
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
,
National Socialist Party and
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
, but most of the executive were aligned with the conservative
National Democrats.
The ŽNR worked to educate women about their rights, as well as to mold public opinion. To that end, they worked to establish a library of materials about women both from within Czechoslovakia and abroad. The organization collected women's literature, and specifically tried to obtain information on reforms, draft laws, and pending legislation which might impact women's equality. Members were encouraged to contact legislative members,
trade unions
A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and Employee ben ...
and
libraries
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
in other jurisdictions to expand the information ŽNR could offer for study to members, public officials and journalists. They also established a journal, ''Ženská rada'' (Women's advice), which was published from 1925 to 1938 and edited by Plamínková. Developing a number of departments, the organization focused on women's civil status as wives and employees, educational opportunities, family matters and parenting, legal status, morality,
pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
,
personal freedom
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
, and societal improvement. Members like
Milada Horáková
Milada Horáková (née Králová, 25 December 1901 – 27 June 1950) was a Czech politician and a member of underground resistance movement during World War II. She was a victim of judicial murder, convicted and executed by the nation's Commu ...
, Marie Svozilová and Hana Vichová devoted speeches and articles to criticize the government's failure to implement laws for equality which was constitutionally guaranteed. They demanded an end to employment discrimination on the basis of sex and insisted that equal pay for employment based on education and skill be upheld. Because the civil code designated the man as head of the household, women by law were legal dependents having the same position as children, with decision-making authority over their economic life or guardianship concerns for their children. ŽNR drafted a new civil code which called for equality of spouses as well as for their mutual care of dependents and each other. Each spouse should have the right to work and the responsibility for care of the family with equal decision-making authority, and for
domestic maintenance. There should be equality in division of assets, the right of spouses to choose their legal name, the right of divorce and equal alimony regardless to the sex of the lower earning partner. Their suggestions were rejected and though the law was revised in 1931, men still maintained authority over children, property and their wives; the only substantive change being that marriage would henceforward be a civil partnership, rather than a religious rite.
With the advent of the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and austerity measures put in place at that time, ŽNR pressed for relief programs that provided assistance to the unemployed, rather than the mass dismissal of women workers. The women also worked for assistance programs for the disabled, illegitimate children and orphans, a juvenile court system, protections for women prisoners, and a comprehensive reform of unemployment schemes, specifically for the establishment of a women's unemployment fund. When the
Nazi occupation
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 ...
began in 1938, women lost ground. Implementation of programs outlawing all political parties except the state-sponsored party, which women could not join, effectively silenced the ŽNR's ability to engage politically. State-sponsored paternalism ensured that the women's choices were curtailed and President
Emil Hácha
Emil Dominik Josef Hácha (12 July 1872 – 27 June 1945) was a Czech lawyer, the president of Czechoslovakia from November 1938 to March 1939. In March 1939, after the breakup of Czechoslovakia, Hácha was the nominal president of the newly pro ...
took over the appointment of the women who were to serve on the ŽNR board, some of whom were not members of the organization. The intent was to subvert the concerns of women from women's issues and point them toward state-approved activities which would benefit the state. in 1942, the organization was outlawed.
References
Citations
Bibliography
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{{Authority control
1923 establishments in Czechoslovakia
1942 disestablishments in Czechoslovakia
Feminist organizations in Czechoslovakia