The Martha Organization ( or , ), also known as the Marthas and the Martha Association, is a Finnish organisation founded by

Lucina Hagman Lucina Hagman (5 June 1853, Kälviä – 6 September 1946, Helsinki) was an early Finnish feminist and among the first female MPs in the world due to the 1907 Finnish parliamentary election. Life and career Hagman was the daughter of police mas ...

in 1899. The organisation defines its activities as follows: "The Martha Organization is a citizens' organisation providing advice in

home economics Home economics, also called domestic science or family and consumer sciences (often shortened to FCS or FACS), is a subject concerning human development, personal and family finances, consumer issues, housing and interior design, nutrition and f ...

, with the aim of furthering welfare in homes and families, and providing diverse activities and possibilities of influencing the community and its members." The Martha Organization takes its name from the biblical figure of

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

The organisation has a three-tier structure. The lowest tier consists of local Martha communities and clubs, which the members belong to. These communities belong to

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Martha suborganisations. The Martha Organization itself is the central organisation. The members of the Martha Organization, called ''Martta'', number about 50,000. The Martha communities now also accept male members.Vilenius, Esa
Willit Martat ottivat itselleen laatuaikaa lumikenkäretkellä
, ''Etelä-Saimaa'', 9 March 2004. Accessed 16 September 2009. They are called ''Martti'' or ''Matti''. Whereas the organisation's activity was previously focused mainly on the

countryside In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically describ ...

, the organisation has lately sought to expand to

cities A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

students have also formed Martha communities. Men have founded Martti clubs. The Swedish clubs have their own national organisation called ( or ). The organisation publishes a magazine called ''Martat'' that comes out six times a year. The magazine was formerly named ''Emäntälehti Martat''. In 2007, Finnish anarchists established their own Martha Organization based on anarchist principles. The Anarchist Marthas have operations in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

. It had about 130 members in 2011. The Anarchist Marthas organised popular public knitting clubs, among other events.

References

External links

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Anarkistimartat website
{{Authority control Non-profit organisations based in Finland Women's organisations based in Finland 1899 establishments in Finland Counseling organizations Home economics Housing in Finland Housing organizations Organisations based in Helsinki Organizations established in 1899