WOMEN’S WINDOW

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17179, 8 February 1930, Page 12

WOMEN’S WINDOW

CHILD MARRIAGES IN INDIA. EVIL DIFFICULT TO SUPPRESS.. CONSUMPTION SPREAD BY PURDAH. ' Attempt to Lroak down the purdah system and the practice of child marriage in India wore described by Mrs L. A. Underhill (Mrs Starr, of Peshawar) in an address before the East India Association at the Lax ton Hall, Westminster. Dr. Drummond Shiols, M. presided. As Mrs Starr, Mrs Underhill was the heroine of the Indian frontier rescue -which thrilled the world in 1923. She succeeded in rescuing •Molly Ellis, daughter of Major Ellis, who had been carried oil by a gang'of Afridis. The bill to raise the marriage age of girls to fourteen had become law, but to enforce it. was a very different matter, said 'Mrs Underhill. Thirtyfour years ago the age had boon raised to 12, and four years ago to .13, yet there were few medical workers who had not in recent years seen something of the misery of motherhood at the age of 12, in spite of these laws. Because many Indian leaders had taken such a strong stand for the abolition of child marriage, it was hard in England to realise that orthodoxy in India, like a solid wall, was against the change. Both Hindus and Alussulnians were alike in complaining against the Govern incut’s interference with their respective religions. Despite the spread of the new movement for freedom, there were thousands of women living in the complete seclusion of purdah. Their minds were not dulled, only undeveloped. Tuberculosis was ten times more common in India among women than among men, and developed in purdah because women were starved, not for want of food, but for want of light and air. Another movement for social reform was that which aimed at breaking down tho ban on the remarriage of widows. Through an organisation in Lahore known as the Widows’ Cause an average of fiOO widows were being remarried every month. In conclusion, Mrs Underwood appealed for the co-operation of the British women in India in furthering the work of emancipation and social service. “Though closely connected with the Indian Army myself,” site said, “ I leaf I must own that British women, in the Army especially, do not learn the language or care to go among- the people. Yet they could do Empire service, for India wants tho simple, genuine, unassuming friendship of the women of the West.” LONDON FASHIONS. PYJAMAS FOB INFORMAL WEAR. With the bob and the shingle came pyjamas, and women to-day are using them more and more, not only as sleeping costumes but. as negligees, lounging suits, and even workingsuits. In France and Italy pyjamas mado of elaborate materials such ns satin and crepe de chine, in striking combination of colors and design, have been familiar for some time on the shores of Dinard, Deauville, and other fashionable resorts, while “Lido” pyjamas have long since become famous. On the Continent these fantastic garments pass the Censor with a smile, but in England we are less conspicuous and! more practical. Wo dress .to live, but do not live to dress, and, over here, except in the privacy of our own boudoirs, when we sometimes like to put on Some Orientallooking suit, we demand pyjamas that will stand washing and wear. Women who have to rise early to light their own gas-lires and get their own breakfasts, find that pyjamas, bv their slim cut, have their. advantages. Such pyjnjftas are light and warm, and 1 qito pretty, too, in white, with their colored collars and cVffs in the jumper or coat style, A very good design, decorative and washable, is the Princess style of pyjama, in flesh-colored crepe do chine. This is made in the style of a Princess petticoat. It is high* waisted, and has chiffon shoulderstraps, a crepe do chine bodice widely banded with fine filet, lace, to which are attached voluminous trouserines of crepe de chine edged with the same lace and gathered in to the. ankle, so as to fall, in a cascade over the instep, A loose, knee-length, bell-sleeved coat of crepe de chine bordered with the wide filet lace completes the most appropriate type of pyjama suit yet made. A pretty three-piece pyjama, suit comes from .Paris. It; is made of egg-shell white satin, lined and trimmed with the new and fashionable shade of rose-pink. A knee-length coat js worn over a sleeveless tuck-in top, and trousers which flare from the knees. Another very smart little outfit is made with a black velvet coat with long rovers, cut like a man’s dinner-jacket, and caught at the waist With a link button; black velvet trousers and a little ivory satin fuckin blouse fastened with plain pearl buttons. American housewives have suddenly become invare that pyjamas give greater freedom of movement when bustling about their household tasks, and a sudden and unexpected demand has arisen in the United States for ‘ ‘ working pyjamas. ’ ’ Mann fact nrers instantly responded by supplying t , pvjamn suits of cotton mnterialj broadcloth, and sateen. to BILK STOCKINGS. CONVERSION INTO HUGS. LONDON,, Dec. 2. Sir Wilfred Grenfell, founder and head of the Labrador International Grenfell Association, accompanied by Ladv Grenfell, sailed from Liverpool by the Onnarder, Laconia, on Saturday, for New York. Before sailing Sir Wilfred made an appeal for caslolf silk stockings. “The natives of Labrador,” he said, “are making progress in an industry by which they convert old woin-oht silk stockings into beautiful mats and rugs, it takes eighty pairs of stockings to make a rug, into which the natives weave picturesque designs.”

FOODS FOR BEAUTY. AVOID RICH PASTRIES. EAT SALADS ALWAYS. It is a fact that too many rich dishes, highly seasoned , with,spices and too much rich pastry, make the face pale and sallow-. On the other hand, a diet which includes plenty of green vegetables, and fruit helps to make the complexion fresh and clear. Some foods, too, contain iron, and this makes the blood rich and red.lnto this category come watercress and"also currants. The latter, in addition, contain valuable salts. Tomatoes, lettuce, and spinach also contain iron and are thus good for the blood, and, consequently, the complexion. So many people give up eating salads in flic winter, but salads, green vegetables and fresh fruit are necessary all the year round. By giving just a little thought, to diet—there is no need to be fussy—the health and complexion can bo greatly improved. Drinking- plenty of cold water is fi simple but effective aid to good health. FASHION COWARDS. BISHOP ADVISES GIRLS TO BE ORIGINAL. The Bishop of Chelmsford (the Right Rev. iH. A. Wilson), speaking at the prize-giving of the Southend; Girls’ High School, said:— 1 am a great, admirer of the young girls of to-day, but they do not think quite enough of themselves. They are not as dignified as they ought to be. ; Urging the girls to preserve their individuality, the bishop proceeded:—■ Fashion is a very funny thing. I sometimes think jl is another word for cowardice. Why on oai-fli should you not strike out on your own lines, even if you are told you must always wear a hat of a peculiar shade and a skirt of a particular length? Why on earth should you do exactly what somebody in Paris says? He suggested that a prize for gumption would be more valuable as a test of a girl’s chances of success in life ; than a prize for mathematics. It was not the people with brains but the people with gumption who got on in the w-orld. WOMEN’S CLUBS. HOW THE NEW YORK WOMAN FINDS A TONIC. The American woman is assuredly the most, indefatigable clubwoman in the world, and New York is a city of women’s clubs, some of them beautiful, artistic, and luxurious, like the Colony, the smartest, club in the city. Some of them comfortable and homey, like the Cosmopolitan and the City Club, to winch women with missions, professional women, political women, and business women belong. Some of them reserved for members of a certain type only, like the Club for Women Bankers, the Club for Women Brokers, the. Pen and Brush Club, the Twelfth Night Club, for actresses, and; some,- like that great temple to emancipated womanhood opened recently by the American' Women’s Association, clubs which are primarily resi-j dential. I'llo American Women’s Association club-house is twenty-eight stories high, can accommodate several . hundred women, and has everything from a Spanish, patio, a swimming .pool and gymnasium, to a well-appointed ballroom. Its members are. women workers gathered together by Miss. Anne Morgan and. Mrs \V. Iv. YiJndcrbilU and their club-house is as completely equipped as the £200,000 building the Junior League, which includes New York’s smartest girls and young matrons, have built.-for themselves. But the most interesting clubs are' those which ,arc merely ; gatherjiigs of women for lunches or dinners, with ho club-house, but kith .a clan spirit which makes them, want .to “get together” to discuss, everything,;fropi politics or the condition of .. city? finances to sex reform or the censorship of books. 1 believe many inhibitions must bo shaken oil’ by those meetings where* the woman who longs to express herself is encouraged to do so. No scheme is too vast, no idea too absurd, no plan too extreme to be listened to with a certain interest by the Women who attend such clubs. And the lunch itself is hurriedly eaten generally of simplest quality that the! discussion may lie arrived at the' sooner. THE QUERYITES. The most exclusive and intellectual of the lunch clubs is “Heterodoxy.” Hero one finds the most interesting women in New York, writers, worndn 1 in political posts, lecturers, scientists, the cream of Kow York feminine intelligence. Only two new members a year are taken into its, fold, and they must have, liberal opinions and have done something to justify their membership, . «\ Then there is “Query,” another lunch chili where one meets Fannie Hurst, Inez Irwin, Judge.. Jean Korria,' and any foreign women writers or lee- 1 Jurors who may be invited as guests. Tiic Quoryit.es listen to a speaker,and' then debate on what, she Ims said, and it is no uncommon thing for iljem to meet at 12.30 and stay till nearly four 1 “The Woman Fays” dub allows only women who earn an income to join its ranks. Bite may. have a rich, husband, but she must, also contribute to family expenses, One finds actresses here, playwrights,, artists, society photographers, j&c. This,takes itself less seriously than sister clubs,' and the speeches are amusing, the meetings short. Very serious are t)io Lucy Stone, Leaguers, the women who insist upon married women keeping their own names. Lucy Stone herself had two or throe husbands, and remained Lucy Stone to the bitter end. INTELLECTUAL STIMULUS. It would seem from all these clnljs and meetings that American women’ get tremendous intellectual stimulus from purely female gatherings. Men are rarely invited as guests or speakers, and one sits surrounded by great numbers of women nil well dressed, most of them with the -good looks which are a result, of care and, attent ion, many of them beautiful, and ail with that almost avid desire to* hear things, know things, and change things. .. >.