Equal Rights For Unmarried Mothers

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31865, 18 December 1968, Page 3

Equal Rights For Unmarried Mothers

(■.V-Z.P-1.-Reater—Copyright > EAST BERLIN. December 17. East Germany guarantees the same legal rights to unmarried mothers as to those who are married. But a new phrase coined in East Berlin mat make the status of an unmarried mother and child more respectable.

The phrase for such a mother and her child is! “mini-family.” Although, in East Germany, being unmarried and having a child is not considered basically wrong, some people do still make life uncomfortable for unmarried mothers.' of whom there are a considerable number. According to the latest statistics, 27.192 childen were bom to unmarried mothers in 1966, or just over 10 per cent of the total of 271,353 babies born that year. An article in “Das Magazin,’’ a popular monthly publication, recently described the feelings of some women, all over 30. who had broken with convention and l started a mini-family. The article said that, naturally, every young girl dreamed of an ideal husband: ’ that was normal and need;' not remain a day-dream. But what did those women between 30 and 40 who. mainly as a result of the Second World War. never knew the excitement of I choosing a mate, think of their lot in life? They never had an altema-i

live and were doomed to ; loneliness, said the magazine quoting one woman, aged 40. as saying: “I belong to an age group with a large surplus of women. Like many others. I had a limited chanee of finding a desirable husband. In any case, I wanted a child and ... I founded a mini-family. My profession and my mini-family keep me content.” A 41-year-old dressmaker commented: “I was afraid of becoming an old maid. My daughter is a planned child. I saved enough money to stay at home and take care of my baby for six months.” The magazine interviews explained the feelings of {some mature women who had had their babies simply : because they wanted them, but the statistics quoted also showed that women in their ■twenties dominated the minifamily field in 1966. Riccarton Guild—At the Riccarton Townswomen’s Guild Christmas party the president (Mrs C. Francis) thanked the choir and drama groups and the guest artists, Mrs D. Bar- ; nett and Mrs K. Blunt.