STATUS OF WOMEN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22963, 15 February 1938, Page 4

STATUS OF WOMEN

NO PROPERTY RIGHTS FOREIGN COUNTRIES' LAWS INTEREST IN POLITICS NEEDED Compared with women of other nations British women are the best protected and the most free, according to Mrs. Leonnrd Murray, of London, who arrived at Auckland yesterday by the Awatea. Mrs. Murray, who belongs to several women's organisations in London, including the National Council of* "Women, left Auckland last evening for Wellington en route to England after completing a year's tour of Europe, tho United States and the East. "For some unknown reason married women seem to occupy a quite inferior civic status compared with those unmarried," said Mrs. Murray. "It may be the same old prejudice about 'women in the home.' In as democratic a country as France, I was surprised to discover that while unmarried women possessed the same rights of property as men, a married woman required to have the authority of her husband or some judiciary authority before she could exercise her rights over her own property whether testamentary rights or the rights of sale.

Inheritance Laws "In Bulgaria, under the law of inheritance, in the case of land or any property not movable, the son or sons inherit two-thirds and the daughter or daughters one third, but when a daughter marries her projwrty may be purchased b.v her brothers with or without her consent," continued Airs. Murray. "In Poland women have complete freedom in their rights of property, following the same legal principles as their husbands, but in those territories which were annexed to Germany the husband has the authority over his own and his wife's property. In Yugoslavia there are six different legal codes lor different sections of the community, but only under the Serbian, Austrian and Montenegrin codes can married women exercise rights over their property," she continued. Interest in Politics Airs. Murray stressed the urgent need for women's interest in politics—not only national, but also world politics. It should be obvious to all that the status of women always depended very largely upon tho Government. In Germany! Italy, Turkey and Russia, the status of .women had been lowered even further "than it was under the antiquated laws of France and Bulgaria. Not only did women in those countries possess no rights of property, but also they possessed no right to choose their own careers or their own ways of livinß- ' A ~ "Most women seem not to realisehow vitally they are affected by politics in many different ways, or how much n Government can do to help or harm them," said Mrs. Alurray; "In many cases, women are simplv too lazy either to interest themselves in the questions at stake or to take full advantage of 'their voting powers." , w