The Daily Worker Newspaper, June 28, 1924, Page 8

By V. KASPAROVA, » Turkey. ps abl the world war the Women’s Movement not only exists in Turkey, but gets stronger as time goes gp. It no longer consists of such timid attempts as were made in 1908 by a few Turkish women intellectuals, among others, by the famous Turkish woman wetter Hialide-Khanum, for the extension of educational facilities for Turkish women and for the aboli- tion of the custom of making women cover their faces with a veil in public. The world drew Turkish women into social activities and production, This applies to women of the pretty-bour- geoisie and of the intellectuals who went to the front as sisters of mercy, aswell as to the proletarian women of Constantinople in search of a living to be able to keep themselves and their children, and to the peasant women of Anatolia on whose shoul- ders rested the burden of agricultural * work during the war. : During the recent war the women intellectuals of Turkey for the first i neseeneeeesineenstneisinn—npnenneneneeoeeet time took an active part in the na- tional movement of the country, and were encouraged in this by the young Turkish bourgeoisie. The women’s question has at preesnt become the order of the day in Turkey. The fem- inist movement among Turkish wom- en intellectuals and women of the middle class aims at women’s admis- sion to general education, at the right of political, social and family emanci- pation and at electoral rights to the Medjliss (Parliament). The move- ment receives the support of the van- guard of the Turkish bourgeoisie and of Kemal Pasha himself. The emanci- pation of women (if only partial) from Moslem customs is essential for the development of modern industry in Turkey and for the transition from the despotic-feudal to the modern capi- talist order. The Turkish liberal bour- geois press of Constantinople is con- ducting, especially since January of the current year, a campaign regard- ing the necessity of women’s partici- pation in social life and for women's political rights. The papers “Bakyt” and “Imory” make a special feature of the women's question, and have published biographies of the heroines of the nationalist front: Aita-Efe, Khaliedo-Edib and others. The Con- stantinople cinemas show films from the works of the famous woman writ- er, Khaliedo-Edib-Khanom. " The bill on compulsory marriage, in- troduced into the Medjliss by the Erz- erum deputy Salik-Afendi, was strong- ly criticised’ in the Constantinople press. In Angora this bill led to a hostile demonstration on the part of the Turkish women students of the teach- ers’ seminary. According to the Turk- ish press, Kemal Pasha spoke at many meetings, especialy in Smyrna, attended by women on the absolute necessity of giving women political rights. He has recently introduced a bill-on this subject ‘into the. Ti@kish national assembly. The « feminist movement for equality of rights is stronger in Constantinople than in Anatolia, where Turkish women as yet dare not come out without a veil, as is done in Constantinople. In connection with the demand for political rights, the Turkish women intellectuals initiated a wide educa- The Women’s Movement in the Near East gram of the party includes the strug- gle for women’s electoral rights, strug- gle against polygamy and prostitution and for amendment of marriage iaws, as. well as wide educational and chari- table activities. The Turkish bourgeoisie hopes to bring over to its side, together with |the women, the Turkish peasant and working class. This is shown by the fact that, in addition to the establish- ment of an official people’s party, a so-called economic conference was convened in Smyrna which was attend- ed by representatives of traders, ar- tisans, and of workers’ organizations. This conference was also attended by five women, one of whom was of the peasant class and four working wom- en from Smyrna tobacco factories. It goes without saying that this confer- ence was organized. in such a way as to. give preponderance to the represen- tative of the. bourgeoisie. Turkish women’s participation in production is growing rapidly of late, not only in agriculture but also on the industrial field. In the tobacco facto- ries 71 per cent of the workers are A WOMAN'S CLUB IN SOVIET ARMENIA tional propaganda among women. Men and women teachers’ trade unions are beginning to be organized thruout Turkey. In Smyrna, Angora, and in other towns women have been elected to the administrative bodies of the trade unions. The Anatolian papers are, full of announcemefits of the establishment of schools for women. Public meetings and lectures for women are being organized. According to communications which appeared during the last few months in the papers “Vakyr” and “Aktum,” a regular political women’s party has come into being in Turkey. In addi- tion to the conquest of political rights for women, this party pursues educa- tional and social aims. The party was formed in Anatolia from the former Women’s Section of the League of Na- tional Defense in the town of Khivas, founded by the Turkish woman Mak- bule-Kkanum. The women’s political organization assumed the name of the Women’s National Party, but it has not yet received official recognition by the government. It has over two thou- sand members. One of the most active members of this party is the author- ess Nezi-Khem-Mukhedin, The pro- women, In Constantinople there are 3,500 women in the tobacco factories. Women are employed in textile, car- pet and other factories. The condi- tions of Turkish working women are certainly far from satisfactory. Their earnings are from one-fourth to one- half of men’s earnings. In the Con- stantinople municipality women are working under terrible conditions. A strike broke out among them last year, but ended in failure. In a few industrial centers of Turkey, but mainly in Constantinople, Turkish women are beginning to participate in the growing workers’ class movement. In Constantinople working women are joining the tobacco workers’ trade unions, It should be stated however, that the purely working class women’s movement in Turkey is as = weak and not independent of the Mourgeois feminist movement. ing formed from the rank and file of these intellectuals. The Turkish Communist Party was established in Angora in 1920. In 1921.the party began its work among women. The Women’s Section of the Turkish Communist» Party participat- ed in 1921 in the-press organs “Imen®’ and “Ikaz.” But work on a large scale was out of the question owing to the wéakness of the Angora Com- munist party. In 1921 the party had only three women members and ten women candidates. Among women communists the majority came from the teaching profession, but there was also one peasant woman and two or three working class women in their ranks. Even at the Congress of the Turkish Communist Party in 1922 there was a total absence of women. In Constantinople, in the Youth League and in the circle of the marx- ist organ “Aidanlyk” there is a group of women communists who carry on propaganda among working women. The campaign for Women’s Day (March 8th) was carried on in the _—— current year for the first time in Turkéy by means of a press propa- ganda in the organs “Aidanlyk” and “Ziya,” the latter being published in Bulgaria, SYRIA. Syria is one of the centers of Asia Minor where indtstrial development has reached a fairly high standard. It always had a high reputation for its silk industry, and in ancient times it was famed for a special weaving pro- cess and. for silk dyeing. The silk industry provides employment for th Syrian population, including th ds of working women. In Libanon, in Beirut and Aleppo this industry has reached a high state of development. Up to the middle of the last century the Syrian silk industry was a purely handicraft try. The first factory was established in Li by a On the other hand, owing to historic |I'rench manufacturer in 1840. In Liba- circumstances, the influence of the great Russian revolution, sympathy for Soviet Russia and Communism have certainly a strong hold on the feminist movement of the Turkish in- tellectuals. At» present the first class cadres of communist workers are be- non there were nine spinning mills,’ out of which only 2 belonged to atives, and in 1912 there were already 200 factories, 3 of them being French. French capital is greatly responsibte for the introduction of women's labor (Continued on page 8) ‘