STATUS OF WOMAN ABROAD

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10560, 10 April 1920, Page 4

STATUS OF WOMAN ABROAD

In Bohemia women over the age of 24 had votes for the Bohemian landtag on the same conditions as men it they paid taxes or beiongod to learned professions. The Czech women did not neglect to vote, and in 1870 Dr. Maltush wrote itiiat they voted with great intelligence, according to conviction, and without slavish obedience to In 1908 they' helped the Bemocra s, and were horrified when tne franchise Bill put forward by the men not mby gave them no extension of the vote, but robbed them of the ones they already had. But in the now Czechoslovak Constitution women at -1, and arc eligible to sit in Parliament at The women of Hungary are unique in having taken an interest in policies at an early date. As curly as 1780 thev petitioned for seam in tne National Assembly. Since 1903 lu.mon of every class have shown hi active interest in the fight for the rote. Ihe Hungarian Socialists have -’cen opponents of women’s suffrage for the same reason as in Austria, csjeeially Counts ' Andrassy mid 1 isza (former Premiers). On the other hand, t'Oiuit Korolyi fought valiantly fox tho women's cause, attributing her enthusiasm for it to women’s innate lore of peace. Since the proclamation of the Republic in 1918 women over 91 rho can read or write possess the .vote. T l ’e women of Serbia enjoy inmost entirely equal r flhv* with non, and have iougui, ioi cU!> years alongside their brothers for their e-.entry.’s cm:,ncipa.h6r..‘ Their first suffrage society was termed in 1909. Ip Bulgaria the women wore ft tiro in helping du, men te ih.iko -PI Urn Turkish yoke in the seventies ef last cmiturv. Not only did the men nj CC r' tii dr petition for the tote, but deprived them cf the votes they alceadv enjoyed. In * t ve.u<re, seven societies united te/vnrk r -. r women’s cause, and hive done good service in fighting' for equal puffin;.! rights for liteh sexes. In Ilouavi'iia, Frau Jmicuu-scu. did not at first arouse mu di interest in women suffrage, but since Bessarabia and Transylvania, have pot the vote the movement in Roumnnia haa taken a start by combining with those provinces, which now belong to . Kouraania.

In Persia a gifted woman cmno forward in 1840 and started an insurrection against die insubordinate jjosi-

tion occupied by her countrywomen. Bbe gained a largo following of men and women, and she and 80,000 of her followers were condemned to death. But the Baba doctrine lives on, and one-third of Persia in it. \Vomen i speak and teach in Persia, and have made themselves so useful that Vasel cl" Rarjiuth brought forward ' motion in the Persian Parliament t: give women the vote, but unfortunately progressive movements in Persia have been sternly suppressed, and women are now forbidden any kind of political activities. The. province of Kwantung. in China, showed ite gratitude for the immense help its women gave in overthrowing the Manchu dynasty and in establishing the Republic that it not only enfranchised its women, hut specially reserved for them seats in the national Parliament. Mrs Chapman Gatt, on her recent visft fto ' iilie Par Kast, found the Chinese women very intelligent, and in Kwantung learned of the existence- of a. society tho members of. which prefer'death marriage with an unknown man. t The Japanese women are more enlightened than any of their Asiatic deters. Japan .alone had, nearly 400 women doctors. Tho new Jewish State of Palestine has decided that women shall have votes and be eligible for the Constituent Assembly on the same condition' as men.