WIDF, 10th Anniversary of the Women's International Democratic Federation (1955)

=== [PDF page 1] === tL ANNIVERSARY OF THE WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRATIC FEDERATION === [PDF page 2] === MADAME EUGENIE COTTON President of the Women’s International Democratic Federation === [PDF page 3] === ee Pes 9 See, gs al: Trae! =: r a a Ae? pongo ee rt [Unreadable] === [PDF page 4] === The Mother (Part of the cenotaph erected in memory of Soviet heroes, Berlin) === [PDF page 5] === NNIVERSARIES ARE LIKE the stages in mountain climbing. One looks backward to measure the distance travelled—then one raises one’s eyes to the summits. One remembers the difficulties overcome, feels the stronger for them and starts out again, while all about the sky grows wider and the view more imposing. An anniversary is a way of taking one’s bearings. One examines what has been, prepares what will be. The lessons of the past give life to dreams of the future. The Women’s International Democratic Federation is ten years old. And it is no accident that its dimensions and its influence do nothing but grow. It has been so well able to express what women deeply feel in their hearts and cannot always say; it has been so eminently fitted to be the outflow of a common will and at the same time to represent each woman taken individually with her personal problems, tragedies and joys, that its force of attraction is immense. It is not, for women in any part of the world, an organization outside of themselves, It is the great confluence of their hopes, their struggles, and their victories. === [PDF page 6] === HE WOMEN’S INTERNATIONAL DE MOCRATIC FEDERATION was born in the aftermath of a horrible war, unprecedented in the life of the nations. The cost of crushing fascism was tragic. Forty million dead, thirty million wounded and maimed whose whole existence was crippled forever, cities destroyed, fields where crops no longer grew, treasures created by man’s genius wiped out. Entire families were stricken. There are millions of widows who will never again see those they loved, mothers who are astonished at still being alive when their children are dead, children who grow up without the love of a father. Added to the dramas of the war itself were the crimes of repression among the oppressed and invaded nations. Mass arrests, torture, concentration camps, shootings, collective massacres. - - There is a whole new geography to be learned—that of battles and of martyrs. Leningrad, London, Oradour, Cassino, Lidice, Stalingrad, Coventry, Auschwitz, Hiroshima—Hiroshima, which revealed to the world the frightful destructive power of the atomic bomb. Who can tell the sum of the misfortunes engendered by that war! What cry can be strong enough to express the whole horror of it! The cry is that of all women. In that infernal epic which jeopardized in the same combat the existence of their homeland and of their home, they did not remain the traditional figures of grief and waiting but many of them assumed an active role. They fought, for their children’s bread, for their country’s liberty, for justice and peace. Women who had only thought of themselves inside their own homes proved to themselves their capabilities as heads of the family and as citizens. Whether at the front or in the resistance, in the factories or on the farms, women were in the front ranks, Many failed to survive the privation and the anguish. Many died gloriously and their historic names have become legendary. The Soviets say “Zoya” as tenderly as the French say “Danielle”; it is the same with the names of Irma Bandiera of Italy, Lina Odena of Spain, Chao Li-yung of China, which can no longer be uttered without a special gentleness. At the end of five years, the trial over, nothing could any longer be quite as it was. Women had taken on great responsibilities; they were not prepared to give them up. It was no longer possible to send them back into the shadows—they had entered into the heroic history of their people. HE WAR WAS OVER. The future lay before them like ravaged earth which had to be made fertile. This was the lesson of terrible years: against the peoples one could do nothing; with them, everything. And the peoples passionately wanted peace. That word contained everything that gave life meaning. For women it was something very tangible. They did not want to tremble any longer for their partner in life or experience the rupture of their love. They wanted to be able to bring up their children amid security, happiness and well-being. They wanted to take their rightful place in the nation. Having no fear of assuming their duties, they wanted their rights to be respected. They had fought to win peace, and now had to fight to keep it and advance along the path of progress. This would be no battle which could be waged in isolation, every man for himself; the living forces of humanity felt the need to join together and the danger of running aground on individual solutions. === [PDF page 7] === HIS 1S how it came about that women joined together in an International Democratic Federation. Those who took part in Paris from November 26th to December Ist, 1945 in the constituent congress of our Federation will never forget it. It was not the first time that women were meeting in an international congress. But it was the first time that immense masses were effectively represented at such a congress, to serve the cause of peace, liberty and progress. Women from forty countries were there. From countries mutilated by war. From others which, without having suffered from it directly, felt it panting at their frontiers. From other countries where the problems of the status of women were being raised, as well as those of national independence and democratic liberties. The women present adopted as their own the words of Madame Cotton, elected President of the W.1.D.F. by the Congress: The democratic spirit must be developed everywhere if we want to guarantee peace, because the planet has become too small for fascism to be able to exist on one point of the earth without soon unleashing a war. Peace is the great ambition of all women, and they want to work solidly with all their strength in order, at last, to have an opportunity to bring up happy children. To work for the restoration of democracy, for peace, for the happiness of their children, those are tasks which women will only be able to fulfil if they have the power to, That is, if they legally become the equals of men in all spheres. And she added, concerning the destruction of fascism: An abandoned child === [PDF page 8] === This is*not a question of this or that party's or country’s policy, it is a question of moral decency and prudence: one does not let madmen or criminals do as they please. The word “‘peace” was on all lips, and so was the word “friendship”. There had been too much suffering from a disunited world; hands were held out to one another, and the women marvelled at finding how much alike they were. Before dispersing they declared: We take a solemn oath to defend women’s economic, political, legal and social rights. We take a solemn oath to fight for the creation of conditions indispensable to the harmonious and happy development of our children and future generations. We take a solemn oath to fight indefatigably so that fascism is wiped out forever in every one of its forms, and so that true democracy is established throughout the world. We take a solemn oath to fight without respite to assure the world a lasting peace, sole guarantee of happiness in our homes and of the development of our children. “Which means,” said Madame Cotton, “to work to make justice prevail in all spheres. That is our great dream. For our splendid enterprise we all have the same ambitions and the same love that a young mother feels for the child she bears, and we want to watch over justice and over peace as over the precious health of our little ones. That is the mission which has been entrusted to us by those who died for the liberty of the world.” Thus the foundation stone of our Federation was laid. Its guiding outlines were already plain to see. The Federation remained true to them. OW CAN it be summed up in a few lines what these ten years have been? Here one of the great realities of our time has to be faced—the impossibility of separating the history of the women’s movement from the history of the world. For the causes they believe in, women are indefatigable workers. Because they are, on the whole, essentially practical in temperament, they cannot be bought off with words. They rally round ideas which inspire action and they reject ineffectual chatter. Grouped together in women’s organizations they worked concretely in their countries. The Women’s International Democratic Federation stimulated and guided them in their activities. In order to fulfil their main aspirations, the W. I. D. F. initiated activity on several levels and of various kinds. At the United Nations Organization, the Federation took part from 1947 to 1954 in the work of the Commission on the Status of Women and of the Economic and Social Council. Through its representatives exposing the living conditions of women and children in many countries, particularly in the colonial countries, and by communicating their wishes, it made an important contribution to the work of the U. N. 0. Throughout the world it struggled on every front where war, oppression and misery threatened. In resounding international actions and also in the daily struggle of millions of ordinary women—the women you meet every day carrying a shopping basket, taking care of their children, in the communal laundry, or coming home from exhausting jobs in the factory or the fields—these women are the strength of the Federation, supporting the whole edifice on their courage and their self-sacrifice. === [PDF page 9] === \ Korean woman with the International Women’s Commission for investigating atrocities committed in Korea by American troops and by the troops of Synghman Rhee The post-war period did not correspond with the hopes of the peoples, who had dreamed of being able to build a lasting peace in a better world. The bugles sounded the cease-fire, but the flames were not yet extinguished in China, and were darting up again in Viet-Nam, there was fighting in Indonesia. There were people who were proposing to use again the atom bomb. And the rearmament of West Germany was already proposed. The armaments race was renewed; military expenditure weighed on the lives of the peoples; unemployment was increasing, prices were going up; grave problems remained unsolved —housing, schools, social security; contrary to the rights women are legitimately entitled to, their living conditions were particularly hard. The people’s reaction was intense. Women everywhere were taking part in it. And the fact of being together in a powerful Federation that extends all over the world, giving an impetus to their activities and co-ordinating them, endowed them with a strength hitherto unknown. Little by little, in increasing numbers, with more and more fire and determination, they were seeking one another out, joining and acting together. The Federation which was to engage tens of ions of women in action, in its own way and within its framework, embodied the will of the peoples not to let their destiny be decided without them. === [PDF page 10] === International Woman’s Day, March 8th, gained a new inspiration, and demonstrations of considerable size, all directed towards the defence of women’s rights and of peace, have taken place. To mention only the year 1948— marked by the second congress of the Federation, in Budapest—the Federation was represented at large gatherings not only in the Soviet Union and the new people’s republics of Europe and Asia but also in Great Britain and Germany, Morocco and Tunisia, Switzerland, Lebanon, Australia and other countries. Beginning in December, 1946 the W. I. D. F. addressed itself to the U. N. O. General Assembly to ask for general reduction of armaments and a ban on atomic weapons. The Soviet, French and Italian women supported this great project. A year later one of its national organizations, the Union of Italian Women, for the first time began a collection of signatures: three million Italian women approved an appeal to the U.N. O. asking for disarmament and the outlawing of the atom bomb. In Paris, 30,000 women meeting at the Velodrome d’Hiver also protested. The peace front cannot permit clefts. The Women’s International Democratic Federation understood that no lasting peace could be established without the participation of the German people. In 1947 it was the first organization to send a commission to Germany and to decide, after the contacts it had made with German women, to welcome them to its ranks. To the attempt of western ruling circles and nazis to turn Germany into a military bastion and a base of aggression, it opposed the peaceful desires of women and mothers who had already been sorely tried. And through each of its activities the Federation was strengthened. At the Congress in Budapest in 1948, women delegated by 51 countries, conscious of the gravity of the situation and of their growing strength, issued a moving appeal in a Manifesto whose high significance gave its stamp to the women’s movement: A great responsibility towards our children, our people, towards mankind and history, rests on our shoulders. If we, the women, who constitute half of mankind, take a firm and united stand against the instigators of a new war there will be no war. HUS THE WORLD hung suspended between peace and war. Faced with the menace of a new world war, humanity had a presentiment of the frightful cataclysm that the utilization of atomic weapons would bring. And the movement for disarmament, for outlawing the atom bomb, for ending the cold war and stopping the wars going on gradually took possession of the world’s conscience. For the embers of war had been stirred up again in various parts of the globe. They were still fighting in Viet Nam; in June, 1950 aggression was unleashed against North Korea. But the movement in defence of peace expanded and rose to meet the world crisis. Here the Women’s International Democratic Federation played a role of first importance. It was the W. I. D. I’. which, in agreement with the “International Liaison Office” of intellectuals for peace which had been created by the Wroclaw Conference, proposed convening a World Congress of Peace Defenders. That Congress took place in Paris in the Salle Pleyel in 1949. Seventy-two nations were represented there. The danger of war became more urgent, but the will for peace also became more active. The support of the women’s organizations was noteworthy. === [PDF page 11] === A Vietnamese widow wearing the customary widow's white turban === [PDF page 12] === It was under the impetus of the Federation that women more clearly grasped the relation between their personal financial problems and the increased military budgets. The signing of the Stockholm Appeal for a ban on the atom bomb was solidly supported by the Federation. More than half of the 500 million signatures were collected by women. While the women of Viet Nam fought alongside their whole people for their country’s independence, the French women multiplied their activities for the withdrawal of the expeditionary corps and an end to a terrible war, As President of the Union of French Women, Madame Cotton was prosecuted for a poster calling on mothers not to let their sons join up. The protest was so powerful in France and throughout the world that the trial had to be called off. === [PDF page 13] === “Our child is a spark of life which can shoot forth a flame for centuries” — Gorky In Korea, where the war assumed a particularly brutal character, the first international investigating committee was sent by the Federation. It was composed of twenty-one well-known women who belonged to various organizations. Their report, “We Accuse!”’, published in twenty-three languages, aroused great feeling throughout the world. Anti-war actions such as that of the Frenchwoman, Raymonde Dien, who lay down on the tracks to stop a train loaded with munitions being sent to Viet Nam, or of the Brazilian, Elisa Branco, who confronted a military parade with a placard that said “Our soldier sons shall never go to Korea!” had immense reverberations in the world. Sentenced to prison terms, Raymonde Dien and Elisa Branco were soon liberated by the pressure of the men and women of their countries. The “Save Our Sons” campaign, a movement of American mothers, and many actions by women all over the United States influenced public opinion for stopping the war in Korea. The women of Great Britain and other === [PDF page 14] === [Photograph: colour photograph of a large group of smiling schoolchildren in caps and red jackets] === [PDF page 15] === European countries also demonstrated forcefully. In Canada and in Latin America the women’s activities, integrated in the general movement, contributed towards preventing troops from being sent to Korea. For recourse to negotiation on all international differences, for meetings and talks among the five big powers, for everything that contributed to lessening tension and strengthening peace, the Federation readily gave its support. To those who fought for peace, to those who bore the blows of cruel repression, to those who endured unjust and humiliating modes of life, it brought the sustenance of its solidarity. And it supported with all its might the women fighting for the liberation of their people and for their own liberation. The Conference of Asian Women in Peking in December, 1949, which had been prepared by the Asian organizations with the support of the Federation, brilliantly signalized the entry into the women’s movement of hundreds of millions of women and their passionate desire to emerge from the thousand-year slavery of colonialism and ensure the peace and independence of their countries. HEREVER CHILDREN suffered the Federation intervened—whether for Greek children torn from their parents, little farm workers, children transformed by poverty into day labourers at an age when they should only be learning at school; for all children it demanded the right to life, to health, to recreation, to moral and jntellectual development. Condemning war propaganda, it demanded a clean-up of children’s publications. In 1949 it started the idea of an International Children’s Day, celebrated every year since then in many countries, and at its suggestion an International Conference in Defence of Children was held in Vienna in April, 1952 which brought together delegates from 64 countries. The appeal adopted by that Conference went to the hearts of parents, educators, physicians, and all those who devote the treasures of their tenderness, intelligence, patience and time to children. Tens of millions of children, the most precious wealth of humanity, are today a prey to hunger, ignorance, fear and death. Thousands of parents in Japan and in Syria are forced by poverty to sell their children; in countries such as India and Egypt, exceptionally rich in cotton, children have no clothes to wear; in many countries, in spite of legislation, children are condemned from their earliest years to earn their poor livelihood by working; the luxurious carpets made in Iran for the rich people of the world are woven by the little hands of thousands of starving children. “Further, throughout Africa, in Latin America and in a large part of Asia, countries of immense natural wealth, millions and millions of children are without sufficient bread, shelter or care; more than half of them die before two or three years of age without becoming aware of what it means to be alive. Others will live in ignorance; in 1952 one half of mankind is unable to read or write... The earth has sufficient resources to feed all the world’s children. Science and technique are capable of building a happy world for all children, There are countries which suffered heavily during the last world war, and in which nevertheless children have a happy life and are growing up with confidence in the future... The joy of living. There are fifty-five million schoolchildren like these in China === [PDF page 16] === “Peace and the well-being of children are inseparable,” it declared in its final resolution, and the world movement for children was born. Since then, national committees have been set up in various countries, with women taking most of the initiative. They have demanded laws for the protection of children. They have taken a stand against measures of race discrimination, for instance in the colonial and under-developed countries. They have submitted demands for nurseries, schools and the social institutions indispensable to the protection of the child and its mother. In countries like the U.S.S.R., China, and the new democracies in Europe, the women’s organizations were the most active in starting tremendous projects for the full development of children. HE FEDERATION raised the problem of the defence and conquest of women’s rights as mothers, workers and citizens. “The rights of women” is much more than a legal conception. Laws have to establish them and guarantee them. But to win their legal rights women have to fight not only on legal grounds. They also have a battle to fight on a human level. Recognition of their rights must be made a unanimous national demand. It is === [PDF page 17] === a fight in which they are in the front ranks but which they cannot wage by themselves. It is the cause of the entire people. All victories of women in this fight for rights benefit humanity as a whole. Women are a creative force. Whether in the field of the intellect, industry or agriculture, their support has a quality, a seriousness, and a necessity that no one can deny. The international women’s exhibition prepared in 43 countries and held in Paris in 1948 gave a brilliant proof of this. The most ordinary, the most obscure of them, are builders. Every day they build that miracle, a harmonious family life. Everywhere, by taking part in production, they are a vital factor in the life of the country and they help develop the intellectual and moral wealth which are a great contribution to humanity’s common capital. In many countries, more and more women are taking part in public life; they are entering town councils, parliaments and magistracies, and even rising to the highest positions—as academicians, ambassadors, ministers. In the U. 8. S. R. and in the new democracies, where women have every chance to study according to their particular ambitions and where all occupations are open to them, hundreds of thousands of them are engineers, thousands direct factories, agricultural enterprises, hospitals and universities. In this way they take part in every sphere of peaceful construction in their countries, which gives all women encouragement and confidence in their own strength and in the possibilities open to them. There are millions of women in the world who do not enjoy the most elementary rights. Others only possess them in a purely theoretical way and see them being ignored or trampled upon. Although the United Nations Organization after the war proclaimed the principle of equal rights in its Charter and recommended to the governments that they make it a reality, the economic, civil and political rights of a large number of women have deliberately been refused, ignored, or ridiculed. Women are less and less willing to resign themselves to this situation; the slogan “equal pay for equal work” is inspiring many activities among women who work. They are acting for the defence and conquest of the right to work, against the speed-up which seriously jeopardizes their health, and for general protection on the job. In a large part of the world, peasant women, whose living conditions are particularly hard, are demanding economic and social improvements. They are demanding the right to own and exploit land; in Italy two peasant women died in the struggle—Giuditta Leyato and Maria Margotti. Workers’ wives in many of the Asian, American and European countries are getting together in big movements to support the struggles and demands of their husbands. In the year 1952 alone, the W.1I.D.¥F. sent two memoranda to the U.N.O., one on women’s political, economic and civil rights, the other on the slavery and servitude of women and children, In convening the World Congress of Women in Copenhagen from June 5th to 10th, 1953 it made the defence of women’s rights the central point on the agenda. Shocking revelations were heard there. And the Declaration on the Rights of Women which resulted from the Congress outlined and inspired women’s demands. It was given international circulation and it received an international response. In Latin America the delegates returned from the Congress and convened a conference which was held at Rio de Janeiro from 27th to 31st August, 1954 and which brought together for the first time outstanding women and === [PDF page 18] === [Photograph: two women carrying baskets on shoulder poles across a flat landscape] Peasant women in Asia 16 === [PDF page 19] === African women meet representatives of women’s organizations from nine countries, in order to discuss the rights of women and children. In the Cameroons and in Nigeria, in South Africa, in India, in the regions where women are traditionally the most exploited, the moyement received mass applications for membership. The African women, the Asian women met their sisters from Europe and the Americas in this struggle so different in its forms yet similar in its content. HE COPENHAGEN CONGRESS was a new and decisive stage in the international women’s movement. It occurred during a period when the confidence which inspired the peoples in their fight for peace had been justified and reinforced by the evolution of the situation. The refusal of the peoples to accept recourse to violence as a valid policy became more imperative and more clearly defined. And armistice talks were going on in Korea where the atom bomb, so often brandished, had not been used... Those who had warned the world public without respite, who had collected signatures and denied war propaganda, sometimes at the price of their liberty, all felt encouraged and strengthened. So it was quite true that the peoples could take the future into their own hands. And even though serious dangers still remained, it had been proven from that time on that when those who hate war decide not to submit but to act, their power must be reckoned with. What at first only a few had been sure of now took gradual possession of the general conciousness. As far as the women were concerned, the Copenhagen Congress attained unprecedented proportions, as much through the number of countries represented as through the quality and diversity of outstanding women and organizations present. === [PDF page 20] === 1,990 women—delegates, guests and observers—from 70 countries took part in its work. 14 countries were attending a world women’s assembly for the first time. Within the national delegations, women who belonged to the Federation rubbed shoulders with others who did not, but who still took part in the Congress. And what a Congress! Vibrant, warm, poignant, a colourful and striking reflection of all the life of the werld. Evidence was added to evidence, and out of the words of each sprang radiant or distressing pictures of her country. It was a poignant minute when the Congress heard the message of the Vietnamese delegation. Their flag was held by the mother of a young French soldier killed in Viet Nam and the wife of one of the dockers who had refused to load munitions on ships for Indo-China. The whole Congress stood while the message was read. It was an immense encounter, a recording of what the women of five continents think, do and want. Africa met China; the two Americas compared their experiences; the countries of Asia told of their ancient misery and their young hopes; Europe spoke in all its voices. It was a Congress of friendship stronger than race prejudice and different systems, a Congress of unity and the sincere desire for co-operation. The fight for justice!—seen in the march of the women of Guinea going by the thousands to Grand-Bassan to demand the liberation of political prisoners; the picket-line of women in the United States around the White House to save Ethel and Julius Rosenberg; the demonstrations in Venezuela for amnesty and an end to police persecution... The fight for rights!—depicted by the victorious two-month strike of the women textile workers in Chile; the campaign in defiance of unjust segregation laws by the women of South Africa; the charter on women’s rights drawn up and defended by the Canadian women... The fight for children’s happiness!—shown by the fight of the Women of France and Japan feel the same about atomic weapons === [PDF page 21] === mothers in Indonesia, where one child out of four dies in the first weeks of its life: the mothers’ committees set up in Tran, the action of the Norwegian women to win holiday camps and nurseries, the conferences of educators and parents held in Italy... The fight for peace!—like the meeting of French and German women on International Woman’s Day, united to save the future of their two countries and prevent the rearmament of West Germany; the progress in France of the national movement for peace in Viet Nam and the part French women took in it; the protest by the women of Latin America against military treaties, and of Japan against foreign occupation; the stand taken by the women of Italy, Norway, Denmark and Holland against the Atlantic Pact. Everywhere they were in action. Whether they were fighting for their rights and the rights of their children or, in the countries where these were already assured, working to make the most of their opportunities, of the progress offered them by society, or defending the cause of peace with their characteristic fire and conviction, they found in the Women’s International Democratic Federation an invaluable support and solidarity. The W. I. D. F. has grown since the Congress in Paris. What it represents, the confidence it inspires, the hope it bears, was expressed by an ordinary woman, an Egyptian peasant woman, from the platform in Copenhagen, in plain everyday words: - +. We know nothing of life outside our work by the sides of our husbands, our little huts of mud and clay, and our children whom we are forced to put to work as soon as they learn to walk and whom we can offer no pleasure. . + But one day someone spoke to us about women, our sisters, who fight together to improve their living conditions and those of all other women, and hope was born in our hearts. We wanted to become acquainted with them and to have them listen to us too. That is why, when we heard that there would be a congress where women would come from all countries in the world to take part, we decided to send one of our women. So I, who had never left my country, got into an aeroplane despite my fear, and I arrived bringing a message from my sisters... We all have confidence in your struggle and in a better future for our children... Thank you! Several appeals were sent from Copenhagen. One concerned the rights of women, another denounced the repressive measures intended to hamstring democratic activity in so many countries. But Copenhagen appealed above all for the necessary knowledge of one another, for the neces ary fraternity and unity. Walking down a street one sometimes hears music. It comes from one of the houses, or perhaps from all of them. One does not always know the tune, yet it seems familiar somehow. And one feels very near to those unknown people who are listening to it, and likes them too. Such is the music of friendship and peace. It speaks to all generous hearts regardless of momentary ignorance, HE WOMEN left at the end of the Copenhagen Congress; they did not separate. They can no longer be separated. The conquests of modern technique had already made the earth smaller. The conquests of friendship had brought the faraway still nearer. The frontiers are vanishing. And not only the geographical frontiers. There are boundary lines in many spheres. Mutual understanding is one of the steps to peace. === [PDF page 22] === In Italy there is no peace under theolive trees... The carrying of heavy loads adds to the already miserable e of the olive === [PDF page 23] === Many delegations of women visit the Soviet Union, China, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania, Bulgaria, Albania, and the German Democratic Republic. Frenchwomen go to Viet Nam: Chinese, Indian, Czechoslovakian, Japanese and Soviet women go to France. Women from various countries meet at Lidice and Ravensbruck, get together in Paris and Stuttgart to reaffirm their desire for understanding. Representatives of nations which have traditionally been incited against one another are passing through the gates of friendship. China and Japan, France and Germany. The firebrands have been extinguished in Korea, there is no more fighting in Viet Nam, the Bandung Conference has vigorously set forth the principles of peaceful co-existence among countries with different systems. But peace is not yet guaranteed, Other threats are arising out of new military treaties. Tragic events are soaking the colonial countries with blood. The American atomic experiments at Bikini on Ist March, 1954 which cost the life of one Japanese fisherman and the health of several others give the full weight of meaning to the solemn warning by the women of Japan, condemning the military use of nuclear energy: August 8th and 9th are days we shall never forget. Those were the days, nine years ago, when the atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and N agasaki, destroying whole cities in a second and killing hundreds of thousands of old men, women and children. Although nine years have passed, the injuries and destruction still exist and the people still suffer. Since the beginning of this year, 120 persons in Hiroshima have died of atomic diseases. A medical survey of eleven women who were pregnant at the time and who were living within 1,100 metres of the site of the exir eleven children examined at the age of five had a head of normal size and the plosion showed that only one out of the old baby. Their deformity is only one of the symptoms effected other children had heads of about the size of a one-yearby the atomic bomb. Translated into twenty-three languages, this appeal went round the world and aroused an unprecedented response among women, Compelled to retreat, the forces of aggression had not surrendered. And while welcoming the lessening of tension which they did so much to bring about, the people were not letting themselves get intoxicated. The Vienna Appeal against atomic weapons received more signatures than the Stockholm Appeal. For its part, the W. I. D. FE. issued an appeal to mothers all over the world: We appeal to you to participate in the World Congress of Mothers which will take place in July 1955. It will be the . Together we will act to def happiness and future of our children. meeting place for all mothers.. fend life against death, friendship against hatred, peace against war, for nothing can stop us in our fight for the d the enthu m of the mothers; the thousands This appeal, which was heard in more than eighty countries, excite the homage of poets, artists and composers who dedicated works of meetings big and small, the press notices, to the mothers, the support of internationally famous women such as the Queen of Belgium and Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Minister of Health in India, were proof of that. had one great passion in ¢ A mother is not only one who rocks a cradle, feeds, The women who were at Lausanne ommon—their children. And all together they reached a level that was truly higher than mother love. consoles. The woman who guides the first steps and her whole weight to bear on the fate of the world, bec guards against the first dangers is the same one who decides to bring ause it is also the fate of her child, of her newborn baby as much as her grown son, === [PDF page 24] === Thus the consciousness of women is deepening. And friendship is deepening with it. By defending her own child against war, against the- atomic menace, and against misery and servitude, a mother also defends other people’s children. Solidarity is built up, a tender and resolute solidarity, Doris, ten-month-old baby girl from the Congo who came from Brazzaville to Lausanne with her very young mama, was passed from one pair of arms to another at the Congress. Every one of the women, clasping the baby against her heart, thought of her own child. Whether a baby is white, yellow or black it is the future of the world and the sweetness of life. The things that divide us are trifling compared to the things which unite us, says the final Manifesto. Let us go out to all women, all mothers, to win them over to the fight for peace. Let us speak to the heart and the reason of all those whom so far we have not yet reached. Let us say to all those still unaware of the danger that it is not enough to cherish their children, we must also save them from war. We appeal to those who are also working for peace, but who do not wish to act in common. Isolated or separated we can do nothing, united we are invincible. Doris and her mother The Congress addressed itself to the women of the whole world, but it also conveyed its peaceful will to the Conference of the heads of government of the Four Great Powers. And in the message it sent to the United Nations Organization it reminded the U.N. 0. of the aims it had set itself when it was founded —“To preserve the coming generations from war.” Tt was an enthusiastic and a grave Congress. Many women discovered there the beauty and the power of united action, they really felt the fortifications being erected between their children and war. And they unanimously greeted the proposal made by Madame Cotton, chairman of the World Congress of Mothers, that a permanent committee of mothers be set up in defence of their children against war, and for disarmament and friendship between the peoples. The presidency of this body was entrusted to Dr. Andrea Andreen of Sweden and it will continue the action begun by the Congr It was one step more along the road to unity and clarity. Women know that if they do not use their eyes for seeing they will use them for crying. And they reject the sterile tears of resignation. === [PDF page 25] === N TEN YEARS there has not been one single big campaign for peace in which the Women’s International Democratic Federation did not participate. In ten years it has guided women in their struggles for the conquest and enforcement of their political, economic and civil rights. It has proclaimed and defended the right to a better life, to liberty, to cultural enrichment. In ten years it has unceasingly protected children. It has conducted constant activity for their security and wellbeing, for their right to education and to knowledge. In ten years the magazine “Women of the Whole World” and 93 women’s magazines have helped to spread truth and knowledge, while the national organizations belonging to the Federation fought illiteracy and ignorance and aroused the desire of women for the benefits of culture. The Women’s International Democratic Federation took an oath in Pz It has never deviated from the path which that oath bound it to. Its history is like the growth of a tree, one of those great beeches whose trunk reaches straight up to the sky and whose foliage becomes rich and green in the splendour of the seasons. The W.1I. D. F, assembles more than two hundred million women and extends its influence to more than 80 countries. Truly worldwide in scope, it brings together women from countries with different systems and makes it possible to establish effective contact; prejudices are wiped out, hostilities die down, misunderstandings disappear. Based on international friendship, its influence is making perpetual progress. Humanity has always dreamed of happiness. In its long march through the centuries, that was always its goal. Happiness for everyone, the simple daily happiness in the little things that make up the charm of life, and the happiness in great feelings, noble actions, and the peaceful achievements which are the most imperishable glory of a nation. The whole history of the Women’s International Democratic Federation in these ten years is the history of women’s struggle for happiness. Not only in the vague sense but in permanent relation to deep realities. At the Congress in Lausanne a mother from Lidice, the Czech village wiped out by the nazis, announced the planting of a “peace garden.” In rebuilt Lidice, 17,000 rose trees sent by cities all over the world are thriving tod: Like the roses of Lidice the Federation was planted in a devastated world. But women are good gardeners; they will make the roses of justice and peace grow in ever increasing profusion. === [PDF page 26] === A session of the Seeretariat with Mme Cotton at the headquarters of the Federation, 13 Unter den Linden, Berlin The Commission of the review Women of the Whole World There are ¢ Children, It is the Secretariat which has the job of directing the daily work of the W.1.D.F. to carry out the decisions made by its international assemblies and meetings. It maintains a permanent liaison with the different national organizations, stimulating their activities and encouraging an exchange of experiences among them. Representatives of various countries work together with the Secretariat. The interpreters, Thanks to them, a daily exchange of corre spondence with every corner of the earth is possible === [PDF page 27] === For the rights of women, for the improvement of their living conditions {t its founding, the W. 1. D. F. warmly greeted the creation **We take a solemn oath of a United Nations Organization, and still supports the previcipied ack jartiten viv Charter. to defend women’s economic, political, ; é. legal and social rights...” Its representatives took part in twenty-three sessions * of the Commission on the Status of Women (U.N.0O.). On several occasions the W.I.D.F. intervened in the Oath taken at the Paris Congress U.N.O, to expose the terrible conditions of women and children in many countries, to save the lives and demand the liberation of women victimized by unjust repression and to demand equal political, economic, social and civil rights in all countries of the world, in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. International Woman’s Day Acquires New Meaning After the second world war, International Woman's Day, which was started in 1910, was celebrated in many countries on all continents for the first time under the impulse of the W.I. D. F. In the most oppressed nations, March 8th is an opportunity for women to join together to express their ardent desire for justice and liberty, through all sorts of activities. In other countries, March 8th is celebrated through big demonstrations where hundreds of thousands of women vigorously demand recognition of their rights, and celebrate their gains. In 1948, in Sydney, 100,000 women took part in the March 8th celebration; in 19 150,000 in France; in 1954, 100,000 in West Germany; in Italy 2,873 meetings were held. In 1955, 50 meetings were held in Great Britain, fa Finland, men and women workers sign the Book of Women’s Rights. === [PDF page 28] === IN 1949 in Peking, the Conference of Women of the Asian countries exposed the sufferings of the women and children of that continent and expressed the powerful will of women to liberate themselves and their peoples from their appalling conditions and dependence. It signified an ever greater development of the struggles and the organization of women for the winn of their rights. In Indonesia the women’s organization which had 6,000 members in 1951 brought more than 500,000 together in 1955. In Viet-Nam, more than three million women are organized in the North and in the South of the country, in the Union of Viet-Namese Women. In Japan and India, women’s federations were set up which included respectively 40 and 45 women’s associations. In 1954, in Rio de Janeiro, the Conference of Latin American Women brought together es Si gael me eng’ ss 1 ame abies aggre oh rmmaniees = S e 368 delegates from 9 different countries and from different organizations, and reinforced the solidarity and the will of the women in their fight for their rights, in defence of children, and for national independence. In Africa, broad federations were set up in South Africa and in Nigeria; new women’s Great events mark organizations sprang up in the Cameroons, in the Congo, in the Sudan, in Senegal. With the development of the international ever more irresistible power, women are delivering themselves from the burden of feudal Fe Saat 6 traditions, and are organizing, fighting, demmovement for winning women’s rights RO eae 8 hi incre Maa. i anding their rights as women and the liberation of their people from the colonial system. 150 delegates representing 250,000 women participated in the South African Interracial Conference: African, Indian, Coloured and White women belonging to all the liberation movements and social and trade union organchange of presents at the Conference of Rio de Janeiro izations. The Conference gave birth to the Federation of South African Women. === [PDF page 29] === The World Congress of Women in Copenhagen in 1953 gave a great impetus to the activity of the women’s movement to ensure women their full rights For Equal Rights Broad campaigns took place: In Italy, to demand application of the principles of equality established by the Constitution, indispensable condition for the emancipation of women. In the German Federal Republic, to demand equal rights for women in all fields, on the basis of a bill proposed by the Democratic Union of German Women and supported by women of all occupations and opinions. In the middle East, for popularization of the Declaration on Rights issued by the Copenhagen Congress and for its application. The Presidium of the Congress Maria-Maddelena Rossi, President of the Union of Italian Women, making a speech at the National Assembly of Elected Women Representatives held on 30th January 1955 in Italy to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the acquisition of the right to vote. 3,000 were present === [PDF page 30] === For economic and social rights for the right to work, against unemployment: in India, Canada, Belgium, and Italy. for equal pay and rights for working women: some successes were reported in this field from Great Britain, Italy and the United States; campaigns were organized in Sweden, Finland, Israel, Latin America. for the defence of peasant women's rights, for social security, for adequate pay for their work, for the use of land—various activities have been conducted in Italy, France, Finland, Lebanon, India, Indonesia, the Cameroons, Sudan, Senegal, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil and Argentina. in defence of mothers’ rights: campaigns have developed around appeals to governments, or bills have been worked out for the protection of mothers, in Switzerland, France, Denmark, Canada and Argentina. In Italy the campaign won a preliminary victory with the approval of a law to benefit working mothers. for the defence and improvement of the family standard of living: big activities have developed, often closely linked with the struggle against war budgets, in many countries—Japan, Canada, Uruguay, West Germany, Great Britain, Scandinavie Italy, France and Holland. In many countries of Latin America, in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Cuba, these campaigns are a part of the great struggle against foreign seizure of national wealth. For the right to culture, and civil and political rights For the access to culture, which is essential to women’s development, many organizations have taken action in quite simple forms, such as reading circles, conferences, libraries, and through big national cultural actions such as the Congress of the Women’s Press in Italy, and in France; the national literary prize started in Italy by the magazine “Noi Donne”, the Women’s Culture and Art Days organized in Finland. An important aspect of this activity is the publication in 32 countries of 93 democratic women’s magazines. In many countries, women are forcefully raising the problem of woman's status in the family and of her civil rights; legal reforms are being demanded in India, Indonesia, Israel and Japan. For the winning of political rights, campaigns have been successfully waged; the right to vote was won by the women in most of the countries of Latin America, Lebanon and Syria. The fight is still going on in Switzerland, Iran and Egypt. In the countries where women enjoy political rights: The participation of women in election campaigns (Italy, France, Brazil, Chile, Austria, Finland, Indonesia, the U.S.A., the U.S.S.R., China, Poland, Hungary, ete.) and the activity of women members of parliament represented a greater and greater contribution by women to the progress of their countries and to the strengthening of democracy and the cause of peace. In Iran, for the vote, In the UnitedStatesagainst the high cost of living. === [PDF page 31] === In the countries where women enjoy equal rights: In the U.S.S.R., China, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, Bulgaria, Poland, Hungary, Mongolia, the Democratic Republics of Korea and Viet Nam, the German Democratic Republic and Albania, where a profound economic and social transformation directed by the state has freed people from misery and created general conditions of prosperity, the principles of full equality and solidarity regulate the relations among all citizens. Under such conditions the women of these countries have acquired a new personality; conscious of their rights as well as of their responsibilities, they take an ever greater part, wholeheartedly and with all their will power and intelligence, in their country’s peaceful development and progress, as well as in the great activities for economic and cultural progress in many different countries. The declaration on rights adopted by the Copenhagen Congress aroused the enthusiasm of millions of women everywhere in the world It helped them to become aware of their rights, it was also a new and powerful element of unity among all women. In response to the campaign started by the W.1.D.F, it was supported by most of the 64 national congresses and conferences which took place after Copenzen, and inspired National Charters of Rights adapted to the problems of the different countries. Photo: a young Uzbekian student in a laboratory. In the Soviet Union, more than 2,080,000 women work in the field of science and culture, About 77,000 pursue scientific avtivities in universities, institutes and academies. In the Academy of Sciences 40% of the workers are women, There are about one and a half million wome: rs and technicians. The Commission responsible for the Declaration of Rights: From left to right Mmes. Andree Marty-Capgras, Andrea Andreen, Lydia Petrova, Isabelle Blame, Carmen Zanti, an Eranian delegate, Mrs Jessie Str “... the following rights must be recognized for all women irrespective of their race, nationality and position in society: the right to work; the right to free choice of a profession or trade; the right to enter all administrative and public posts; equal possibilities for promotion in all spheres of work equal pay for equal work; the equal right to social insurance; the equal right to state protection of mother and child; paid pre- and post-natal maternity leaves, the establishment of sufficient maternity homes, welfare clinics for mother and child, creches and kindergartens, in the countryside as well as in the towns and industrial centres; the granting of the same rights to agricultural as to industrial women workers as regards wages, measures of security at work and protection of mother and child; the right of peasant women to own land and to the fruits of the land; the right to a full education and professional training; the right to vote and to be elected to all state bodies, without restrictions and discrimination; equal legal rights with men in relation to property, marriage and children; the right to association and unhampered activity for women’s democratic organizations, and the right to participate in other organizations. “These rights should be confirmed by law, and the necessary conditions for their application created.” (Adopted at the World Congress of Women, Copenhagen, June 10, 1953) === [PDF page 32] === For the defence of children “_..We take a solemn oath to fight for the creation of conditions indispensable to the harmonious and happy development of our children and future generations” Oath taken at the Paris Congress IN 1945, the Congress in Paris proposed the creation of an international rescue fund for children who had suffered particularly as a result of the war, including children in the colonial countries and countries which do not possess autonomy. International Children’s Week in 1946 saw demonstrations of solidarity among hundreds of thousands of women in France, Switzerland, the United States, the USSR, Bulgaria... for the benefit of Greek, Spanish and North African children. In 1948 a special campaign was conducted for Greek children; and a commission was sent to India, Burma and Malaya to study children’s conditions. IN 1953, on the initiative of theWIDF, a big campaign of aid to Korean child victims of the war was actively conducted by women and women’s organizations in the most different countries. Soviet, Rumanian, Chinese, Czechoslovakian and German women welcomed thousands of child war victims in their countries. At different times, other solidarity actions were organized on the occasion of the disasters in Italy, India and Indonesia. The beginning of term === [PDF page 33] === International Children’s Day in Indonesia. This day was celebrated for the first time in 1950 by 51 countries. ... Our children have sacred claims on society, for they are the world of tomorrow. And that world will correspond to the measure in which these claims are satisfied. **... Children cannot defend themselves. “It is up to the mothers, fathers and young people, to all groups and organisations— international, national, local, co-operative—throughout the world, to unite to impose peace and give the children the joy of living.” (Appeal for the celebration of International Children’s Day.) *,..The earth has sufficient resources to feed all the world’s children. Science and technique are capable of building a happy world for all children. “*...Men and Women of good will! . Let us devote all our strength and unite our efforts to ensure for all the children of the world the right to life, to health and to moral and intellectual development. ..+Let us obtain from the governments a guarantee of these rights, let us ensure that laws shall be passed everywhere protecting children, and that existing laws shall be applied...” (Appeal issued by the International Conference in Defence of Children.) The International Conference in Defence of Children held in Vienna, 1952, in which 64 countries participated and 59 countries formed preparatory committees Pee oe Children’s Day, launched on the initiative of the W.I.D.F., and the International Conference in Defence of Children, gave a new impetus to activities on behalf of children === [PDF page 34] === In the German Federal Republic, the organisation “Happy Holidays for All Children in West Germany” has demanded government aid for the realization, on a large scale, of holiday camps, with the cooperation of all State services, charity organizations, trade unions, as well as of parents and teachers. In France, on the initiative of the National Movement in Defence of Children, a big campaign was conducted on the problem of apprenticeship and jobs for young people, with the support of thirty-seven organizations. In Italy, a National Conference organized by the National Committee in Defence of Children made the problem of a reform in State assistance to children the central point hey Gave tha Hphit-20 education of its deliberations. A reform plan was worked out which is to be presented to Parliament. In the Soviet Union, China, Mongolia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Rumania and in the German De- In the most different countries..... mocratic Republic, tremendous projects have been carried out by the governments, with the enthusiastic support of women and TheW.I.D.F., itsnational organizations, and the National Committees their organizations. These organizations are in Defence of Children which were set up in many countries after the taking an ever greater interest in problems International Conference are devoting continuous attention and activity to the problem of defending children’s rights. This activity profits from the active and ever-wider co-operation of different organizations, educators, doctors, writers, lawyers, ete. 2a Aantyalia moothary syith ohtldcon take part tt:p: demengeacon In Finland, Sweden, Norway, West Germany, Great Britain, USA, Japan, Canada, Colombia, Uruguay and other countries, all sorts of activities are being conducted against harmful reading matter for children. In Colombia and in Great Britain, the governments had even to ban publications which incite children to hatred and corruption. In Australia, drawings made by children from Asiatic countries were exhibited. In Israel, a National Committee was formed to fight for free compulsory education. In Iraq and in South Africa, women are conducting actions to demand the right to have education for their children without any discrimination. In Burma, committees with a very broad composition have been set up to work for child welfare, In the Scandinavian countries, Italy, Argentina, France... many initiatives have been taken to protect children’s health (school resting places, open air holidays, ete...), and to secure for them healthy recreation. In other countries nation-wide activities have been undertaken which have made a deep impression on the public and on the governments. In Chile, a Bill to set up after-school centres and creches for children of women workers is being supported by women and by outstanding people belonging to various associations and to all political parties. 34 === [PDF page 35] === In a factory nursery in Moscow concerning children, in the organization of their everyday life, in their joys and welfare, in the improvement and extension of social services—creches, clubs, libraries, holiday camps, ete... They take the initiative in making the most highly esteemed personalities of the country participate in the cultural and moral development of children. ... At the world congress of mothers held in Lausanne in July 1955, on the initiative of the W.1.D.F., meetings took place on the problems of health, education, culture and legal protection of children in connection with problems of peace. The delegates at the Congress unanimously adopted a Manifesto appealing to the sense of responsibility of mothers for the defence of their children against war: “We do not want our sons to kill each other. Let us bring up our children to love all peoples and we will not allow the peryersion of their minds by the cult of arrogance and the encouragement of racial hatred... “All children, white, yellow or black, are equal, have the same rights and must be protected together.” At the World Congress of Mothers, a meeting on the problems of children’s health, presided over by Dr Andrea Andreen, === [PDF page 36] === For the Defence of Peace **...We take a solemn oath to fight without respite to assure the world a lasting peace, sole guarantee of happiness in our homes and of the development of our children...” Oath taken at the Paris Congress For ten years the WIDF has conducted continuous activity and appealed to women of the whole world to participate en masse in the big campaigns for peace and to take initiatives of their own. For the peaceful use of atomic energy and for disarmament: IN 1946, the WIDE addressed a request to the UNO for ‘a general reduction of armaments and primarily a ban on the manufacture of atomic bombs, the destruction of those in existence, the outlawing of all atomic weapons, control over atomic energy, and utilisation of it for the good of humanity”. This action was followed by national campaigns: the Italian women sent the UNO three million signatures they had collected, the Bulgarian women collected 2,200,000 signatures. IN 1950, women collected more than 250 million signatures for the Stockholm Appeal, demanding a ban on atomic weapons. IN 1954, three months before the explosion at Bikini, the WIDF once more called on the women of the whole world to join together in action, in order to obtain the prohibition of all atomic weapons. IN 1955, the Appeal issued by the Japanese women to ban experiments with and manufacture of A- and H-bombs, thanks to the great effort of the WIDF to publicize it, reached tens of millions of women everywhere in the world. In the same year, women were most active in publicizing and supporting the Vienna Appeal against atomic war, approved by, among others, 400 million signatures in China and 34 million in Japan. Mothers sign against the atomic bomb. === [PDF page 37] === The Congress of Lausanne declared in its Manifesto: “|. that our voices should be raised even more strongly. Let us demand the banning of atomic weapons and their destruction. We want nuclear energy to be used only for peaceful ends...” In France for the ending of the war in Viet Nam For ending the wars in Korea and Viet Nam: The WIDF and its national organizations undertake important activities. The WIDE sent an international women’s investigating commission to Korea which presented a report to the UNO on the atrocities committed there by the aggressors. In the many different countries of Latin America, in Canada, Great Britain, the United States, Italy and Turkey women demonstrated for the bringing back of soldiers from Korea or against their being sent. Women everywhere showed their solidarity with the heroic Korean people fighting for their independence. FOR ENDING THE WAR IN VIET NAM: The WIDF asked women to support the heroic fight of the Vietnamese women for the liberation of their people. In France, women demonstrated courageously to demand the return of the French expeditionary corps. 400 women’s delegations went to the Conference in Geneva, 1954, to demand peace in Indochina. In North Africa courageous actions were conducted by women against the sending of arms and soldiers. In 1952, a letter in the name of Mr. Padillo Nervo, President of the General Assembly of UNO, was sent to Mme Cotton, President of the WIDF, “to thank her sincerely for the interest the WIDF takes in the very serious problems which now face the world...’ In England for the return of soldiers from Korea === [PDF page 38] === Against rearmament Against the formation of military blocs... Since the Budapest Congress in 1948 which denounced the connection between the growing deterioration of people’s living conditions and war preparations, the WIDF has continued to call on women to fight for disarmament and to go on demanding peace budgets. Demands along these lines were constantly raised through activities in Great Britain, Denmark, the United States, Canada, the countries of Latin America, France, Italy, Switzerland, the Middle East and in many other countries. Activities conducted by women in different countries against the revival of militarism in Germany and Japan have assumed special dimensions. On 31st January 1954 and 1955, in France, there was a National Women’s Day against the revival of German militarism, with the participation of women from various countries of Western Europe. In 1955, in Stuttgart, a meeting was held of German women belonging to the most different political organisations with representatives of five other European countries Othe Italy, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, G demonstrations took place in West Germany, Austria, at Britain, Sweden and Finland. In Japan and China against Japanese rearmament; WIR SIND GEGE in Indones Japan, Spain, Italy, Iceland, Great Britain and the Lebanon against the installation of military bases. More and more women are taking part in the great movements of the peoples that are developing for national independence and for peace in different countries. IN LATIN AMERICA, against bi-lateral military pacts, IN EUROPE, against the Atlantic Pact, the European Defence Community, the London and Paris Agreements, IN THE MIDDLE EAST, against the Turkish-Iraqi Pact, the Bagdad Pact, IN ASIA, against the South-East Asia Pact, the Round Table Treaty, the peace treaties between the United States and Japan. ...and for peaceful co-existence Women are speaking out more and more for peaceful co-existence and co-operation between the peoples. In India, Indonesia and the different countries of Asia and Africa, they are actively supporting the ten principles of the Bandung Conference, essential condition for the defence of peace, the independence of their countries, as well as their rights as women, and for progress. Everywhere in the world, they responded to the Appeal for the calling of the World Congress of Mothers, by activities proving their wish to give a concrete contribution to the strengthening of friendship and of peace among the peoples. Del went to Geneva on the ocea’ legations of women from Germany, France and Switzerland ns of the Conferences of the Heads of Governments and of the Foreign Ministers of the Four Great Powers. Various activities have been undertaken by women in different countries—Great Britain, Bulgaria and Germany— to demand the conclusion of the agreements on disarmament, the unification of Germany and European collective security. The mothers who met at the World Congress of Mothers in Lausanne, July, 1955, reaffirmed these demands in a letter to the Conference of the Heads of Governments, and in November, the Bureau of the WIDF, in the name of the millions of women it represents, appealed to the Four Foreign Ministers once more on this question. In the German Federal Republic against recruiting In China, against Japanese rearmament Ta Chile, against military pacts === [PDF page 39] === Friendship among the women of all lands is becoming a powerful force for peace The WIDF, responsive to the growing desire among women of the most different countries to meet in order to establish bonds of friendship and international solidarity in the common struggle for progress and peace, encourages the exchange of women’s delegations from all countries of the world. International delegations organized by the WIDF and numerous delegations of women from many different countries of the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia, have been received in the USSR, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Rumania, Bulgaria, Hungary, China, the German Democratic Republic and Mongolia, on visits, study trips and holidays. Women from countries of different systems participate in ever larger numbers in the Congresses and other activities in many different countries. In the giant struggle of the peoples against the war-makers, meetings between people whom wars have divided assume great significance. With this in mind, women meet on martyred ground or at frontiers, to make pledges for peace. The Czechoslovakian women met German women of east and west, as well as Polish and Austrian women, in great demonstrations at the frontiers. Polish and German women met. Women from the different countries of Europe which had suffered most from war meet every year on the martyred ground of Ravensbriick, Lidice, Warsaw and Cassino, to renew their oath of peace and friendship. Madame Nina Popova receives foreign delegations in Moscow In the German Democratic Republic, a meeting of German, Czechoslovakian and Polish women. In Paris, Madame Claudine Chomat, General Secretary of the Union of French Women, weloomes a delegation of Chinese women, === [PDF page 40] === In defence of their children against war, for disarmament and friendship between the peoples, a great world meeting of mothers “.., The things that divide us are trifling compared to the things which unite us, We understand better that the peoples of the world have no reason to be enemies, The world is big enough for everyone to find his place in it and live in peace. “But peace will be in danger and mothers will always be anxious as long as there is an armaments race, as long as there are military blocs, the use of violence and war propaganda; as long as atom weapons are stocked and developed, and as long as there is no confidence and understanding between states, “Everyone has the right to live freely in respect for the national independence of each. Only in this way can peace be assured. “We know today that war is not inevitable, that it can be avoided, and peace enforeed. “By the determination of the peoples of the world, war was stopped in Korea and Viet Nam. “The ten principles adopted at the Bandung Conference show the possibility of peaceful co-existence between countries with different systems. “Great strides have been made towards In February 1955, in face of the serious danger of atomic war, which threatened the world, the WIDF issued—for the calling of a World Congress of Mothers— an Appeal which aroused the intense interest of millions of mothers all over the world. Women of all sorts of social origins, ideologies, and religions, and all sorts of women’s organisations got together in the preparations which took place in nearly eighty countries. The Congress brought together the most unassuming women and also the most distinguished women, and received more than two thousand messages. It was a powerful demonstration of the determination of mothers to contribute the eat power of maternal love to those who are fighting for respect for life and peace. It decided on the setting-up of a Permanent Mothers’ Committee which will continue to act for the realization of the aims which the mothers set themselves when they met at the Congress, a peaceful solution of differences so as to put an end to the policy of resorting to force, as witness the signing of the Austrian Treaty. “It already appears possible to reach an agreement on the problems of disarmament. “These first victories will only yield their full fruit as the reward of continued and unremitting effort an our part. Let us bring the great strength of mother love to the support of all those who fight for peace and for respect for life...” Manifesto of the World Congress of Mothers, Lausanne, July 1955 === [PDF page 41] === Albania Argentina Austria Bolivia British Guiana F Bulgaria Cameroons Canada Chile Colombia Congo Cyprus Qzechoslovakia Finland Egypt German Federal Republic Guatemala Hungary Ivory Coast Jamaica Jordan Libya ; Mexico Nigeria | New Zealand Paraguay Spain Switzerland Soviet Union Union of South Africa Uruguay Australia Brazil Ceylon Costa Denmark France French Guinea Iceland Indonesia Italy Kenya Madag Mongolia Peru Rumania Sweden Trinidad Viet Nam === [PDF page 42] === Algeria Belgium Burma lon China Josta Rica Cuba Ecuador French Sudan Greece Holland Iraq Japan Luxembourg [adagascar 40 Countries participated in the Paris Congress (1945) Albania Chile Hungary Algeria China Iceland Argentina Cuba India Australia Czechoslovakia Indo China Austria Egypt Ireland Belgium Finland Italy Brazil France Luxembourg Bulgaria Great Britain Morocco Canada Greece Norway Ceylon Holland Palestine The Congress of Lausanne (1955) spread its influence over 79 countries. Great Britain Guadeloupe Iran Malaya Norway Senegal Syria Tunisia United States of America t Nam Poland Portugal Rumania Spain Sweden Switzerland United States Uruguay USSR Yugoslavia German Democratic Republic India Tsrael Korea Morocco Poland Sudan Turkey === [PDF page 43] === he WIDF calls on women in all countries to unite to win such a life. It welcomes all women who wish to join in its work and co-operates gladly with all organisations who desire to act with it: Putting aside those things which divide us, let us strengthen the friendship between women of the whole world; let us come together in our own countries to secure: disarmament; the banning of atomic weapons; the settlement, through negotiations, of all the problems that threaten peace. Let us unite to ensure the well-being of our families, the happiness of our children and for ourselves the right to a life of dignity. Message for the 10th anniversary issued by the Bureau of the WIDF Published by the Women’s International Democratic Federation, 13, Unter den Linden, Berlin W 8 Art editors: Lothar Reher - Rolf Jubisch. Werner Gerwinski — Berlin === [PDF page 44] === [Cover/decorative page: dark green cloth cover with a small gold emblem (dove over a globe)]