Chap. 22 (659-674)

The specific section that caught my attention was on Communist Feminism and how communist countries actually encouraged and developed forms of women's liberation in the West. It was the new communist government who issued an entirely new set of laws regarding women. Some of the many included divorce being legalized as well as easier, abortion too, pregnancy leave for employed women was mandated, illegitimacy was abolished, political equality for women was legal, and many more. One of the major events performed by the party was the development a women's department called Zhenotdel. They organized conferences for women , trained them to run day-care centers and even medical clinics. They also entered the work force in farming and industrial jobs. The picture on the right of page 669 shows two women learning to drive a tractor. It is so great and interesting to me to see how women began as nothing but property and taken advantage of, to them having jobs and our society as a whole recognizing and treating the value of a women as equal to that of a male. It really took hundreds of years for women to gain and have truly fair and equal opportunities. Crazy ...