INTO THE LIMELIGHT

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20509, 29 August 1936, Page 11

INTO THE LIMELIGHT

FRENCHWOMEN IN POLITICS After being content for years to wield their influence only behind the scenes, Frenchwomen really seem likely to come into their own politically with the advent of M. Blum’s Left-Wing Government. He has included three women among his Under-Secretaries of State, and Frenchwomen hope that this is an indication that he intends to bring in women’s suffrage shortly. They also hope that many other restrictions on women, so long regarded as an injustice in France, will be removed. To-day a Frenchwoman cannot manage her own property or run a separate banking account without her husband’s consent, and it is hoped that the three women Cabinet Ministers will use their influence to end this state of affairs. It is fitting that Madame Irene Joliot-Curie daughter qf one of France’s most distinguished women, Marie Curie, discoverer of radium, should be among the first three women ever to hold Ministerial posts. She is now Under-Secretary for Scientific Research. Madame Curie is about 40 years old. She worked with her mother in the laboratory doing development work on radium. She and her husband, M. Joliot, who is attached to the Institute of Radium as one of the chief assistants to Madame Curie, have together conducted many important scientific experiments. Their most noted work has been the discovery of neutron, and of artificial radio-activity, which opened up a field of immense possibilities. They received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry jointly last year. Both have always been ardent Socialists. The present Under-Secretary for Child Welfare, also a woman, is known as the “Socialist Saint.” Mme. Suzanne Lacrore has sharp black eyes, a keen mind, and a small voice which carries great sincerity. She recently retired from school-teaching in the Dordogne. She has long been known as a “militante” and is a prolific writer and pamphleteer, under the nom-de-plume of “Suzon.” As Under-Secretary for Child Welfare, she is a happy choice, for she adores children. The third woman is Mme. Brunschvigg Under-Secretary for State Orphans and War Widows. One or two other social changes oi particular interest to child welfare and the rising generation are foreshadowed by the appointment of a Minister for the Organisation of Leisures and Sports (a man). This innovation should result in the growth of a healthier, stronger nation.