Františka "Fráňa" Zeminová (15 August 1882 – 26 September 1962) was a

Czechoslovak Czechoslovak may refer to: *A demonym or adjective pertaining to Czechoslovakia (1918–93) **First Czechoslovak Republic (1918–38) **Second Czechoslovak Republic (1938–39) **Third Czechoslovak Republic (1948–60) ** Fourth Czechoslovak Repu ...

women's rights activist and politician. In 1920 she was elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, becoming one of the first group of female parliamentarians in the country. She remained a member of parliament until 1948, after which she was jailed by the communist authorities.

Biography

Zeminová was born in

Dolní Chvatliny Dolní Chvatliny is a municipality and village in Kolín District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 500 inhabitants. Administrative division Dolní Chvatliny consists of three municipal parts (in brackets populatio ...

, then in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, in 1882, the youngest of twelve children of a farming couple. She graduated from business school and from the age of 20 until 1918 worked as an accountant and saleswoman in the

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

publishing house I. L. Kober. She had been active in the

Czech National Social Party The Czech National Social Party (Czech language, Czech: ''Česká strana národně sociální'', ČSNS) is a political party in the Czech Republic, that played an important role in Czechoslovakia during the interwar period and then between 1945 an ...

since 1897, but was unable to join until 1912. In 1905, together with

Františka Plamínková Františka Plamínková (5 February 1875 – 30 June 1942) was a Czechs, Czech feminist and suffrage activist. Trained as a teacher, she became involved in feminism because teachers were forbidden to marry. She transitioned into journalism, writi ...

, she was a co-founder of the Committee on Women's Suffrage and several other women's associations. Her participation in demonstrations brought her to the attention of the Austrian police, and she spent a short time in jail for 'anti-state activities'. She was also involved in the

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

movement and had articles published in the ''Ženské snahy'' monthly magazine and ''

České slovo ''České slovo'' (), also known as Svobodné slovo () was a Czech daily newspaper, founded and continuously published in Prague since 1907, by Melantrich, Publishing House Melantrich, until its cancellation in 1997. The newspaper was founded by U ...

'' daily newspaper. In 1918 she became a member of the for the National Socials. Following the formation of

, she was a candidate in the 1920 parliamentary elections, and was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. She was re-elected in

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

and

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

serving until 1939. In February 1937 Dorothy Layton,

Eleanor Rathbone Eleanor Florence Rathbone (12 May 1872 – 2 January 1946) was an independent British Member of Parliament (MP) and long-term campaigner for family allowance and for women's rights. She was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool. ...

and

Katharine Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl Katharine Marjory Stewart-Murray, Duchess of Atholl, DBE (''née'' Ramsay; 6 November 1874 – 21 October 1960), known as the Marchioness of Tullibardine from 1899 to 1917, was a Scottish noblewoman and Scottish Unionist Party politician. S ...

made a tour of Romania, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. They were received by Zeminová in Prague, who used the occasion to laud the support of Britain for her country during the events that were to lead up to Germany's invasion. Following the occupation of parts of Czechoslovakia by Germany and Hungary in 1939, she became a member of the Party of National Unity. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she served in the Interim National Assembly from 1945 to 1946 and was then elected to the Constituent National Assembly, serving until the

1948 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1948. Previous: List of elections in 1947 Next: List of elections in 1949 Africa * 1948 Mauritian general election * 1948 South African general election * 1948 Southern Rhodesian general election As ...

. Following the 1948 coup, she was arrested in 1949 and sentenced to 20 years in jail. She spent eleven years in prisons in

Jihlava Jihlava (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 55,000 inhabitants. Jihlava is the capital of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava (river), Jihlava River on the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. Historically, Jihla ...

and

Plzeň Plzeň (), also known in English and German as Pilsen (), is a city in the Czech Republic. It is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 188,000 inhabitants. It is located about west of P ...

working as a seamstress, before being pardoned by President

Antonín Novotný Antonín Josef Novotný (; 10 December 1904 – 28 January 1975) was a Czechoslovak politician who served as the President of Czechoslovakia from 1957 to 1968, and as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia from 1953 to 1968. ...

as part of a large amnesty in 1960. During her time in prison she had organised hunger strikes, and suffered two heart attacks. After being released, she remained under the supervision of the

StB State Security (, ), or StB / ŠtB, was the secret police force in communist Czechoslovakia from 1945 to its dissolution in 1990. Serving as an intelligence and counter-intelligence agency, it dealt with any activity that was considered oppositio ...

until her death in Velichovky in 1962. She was posthumously awarded the

Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk The Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk () is an order (decoration), Order of the Czech Republic and the former Czechoslovakia. It was established in 1990 after the Velvet Revolution, and re-established in 1994 (following the dissolution of Czechosl ...

in 1992.

References

External links

Františka Zeminová
at

Parliament of the Czech Republic The Parliament of the Czech Republic () or just Parliament () is the Legislature, legislative branch of the Czech Republic. It meets in Malá Strana, Prague and is composed of 281 total members and Senators. It consists of bicameralism, two cham ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeminova, Frana 1882 births 1962 deaths People from Kolín District Czech suffragists 20th-century Czech women politicians Czechoslovak women in politics Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1920–1925) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1925–1929) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1929–1935) Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Czechoslovakia (1935–1939) Czech National Social Party politicians Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk