PEACE CONFERENCES

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 110, 3 February 1941, Page 4

PEACE CONFERENCES

Inclusion Of Women Delegates Proposed That women be included in national delegations to peace conferences was suggested in a remit presented by a woman delegate to the conference of the League of Nations Union in Wellington this week. The mover was Airs. Deuton-Leech, who has been closely connected with the work of the League of Nations Union in Dunedin for many The remit was as follows: —“That women, chosen for their international experience, be included in the national delegations for commissions (including New Zealand) to the peace conferences preparatory to the peace ; treaty. They should have official status.” . Speaking to the remit, Mrs. DentonLeech quoted the British Alinister of Labour, Air. Bevin, who said that under the conditions of modern warfare women were in the front line of battle. In Greece the valiant women today had helped" their soldiers to repel attack by carrying ammunition aud heavy' stores of food and supplies up the mountain sides. In Britain women were carrying out a wide range of wartime duties, often under severe bombardment. It was therefore fitting, the speaker said, that such women should have representation iu the settlement of peace terms. As women looked at problems from a different angle to that of men, they contributed to more comprehensive consideration of the many problems. In all European countries there were notable women fully equal to this service. Members of the International Council of Women hud for years made o thorough study of international conferences and had met people of every nation. r L’he uaine.s of some well-known women were given by Mrs. Denton-Leech to indicate the type of person available. They were: The Marchioness of Reading, vice-reine of India, experienced organizer of 102,000 women and children evacuated from London; Lady Ruth Balfour, president of the National Council of Women iu Great Britain; Miss Kate Courtney, writer on international co-operation who recently visited New Zealand, Australia, and the East; Baroness de Fol Boel, president of the Internationa' Council of Women and at present a prisoner of war in Belgium; Aliss Van Wied van Wyck, Holland, recent world president of the Y.W.C.A.; Dr. Renee Girot, Switzerland, lawyer; Madame Dreyfus Barney, France, peace and arbitration worker; Fraulein ingeborg Kroft, Sweden, housing expert; Froken Lilback, Norway, an authority on migration; Miss A. Kydd, C.8.E., Canada, peace and arbitration; Airs. Griffen, ALA., LL.B., South Africa, known for her work in legal matters; Dame Rachel Crowdy, internationally trained in League of Nations work; Airs. Hamouskava, Poland, and Dr. Horo-Kova, Czechoslovakia.