Women's National Council
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Women's National Council (), 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 iden ...
in
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''ÄŒesko-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 ...
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, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
. Founded by
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 ...
, 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, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...
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 organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating women's rights, human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington D.C ...
and the
International Woman Suffrage Alliance The International Alliance of Women (IAW; , AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international organization that campaigned for women's suff ...
. 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 ( ; ) 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 ...
, with a branch office in
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
, 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 *Czech (surnam ...
, 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. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...
, which often precluded Catholic women's organizations from participating. Politically, the membership included members of the Agrarian Party, Communist Party, 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 Form ...
, 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 (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 ...
and
libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
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 to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...
,
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 of ...
, and societal improvement. Members like
Milada Horáková Milada Horáková (born: Králová, 25 December 1901 – 27 June 1950) was a Czech politician and a member of the underground resistance movement during World War II. She was a victim of judicial murder, convicted and executed by the Communis ...
, 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 was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
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, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...
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 ...
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.


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* * * * {{Authority control 1923 establishments in Czechoslovakia 1942 disestablishments in Czechoslovakia Feminist organizations in Czechoslovakia