Women - Lenin

Question 1

alexandra kollontai’s ideas

Answer 1

• no communism without gender equality - saw it as the best way to promote their rights
• women should have own income
• women were enslaved by housework
• sexual freedom
• opposed marriage = constrained & limited women
• children homes, communal canteens etc would give them more time for other activities
• relationships on love & equality - no arranged marriage

Question 2

what branch did the bolsheviks establish & when?

Answer 2

• zhenotdel in 1917 = women’s branch of the CC
• to promote the status of women

Question 3

decrees

Answer 3

• 1917 = rushed through them which gave women greater status & freedom in marriage
• divorce made easier & abortion legalised
• no longer needed husband’s permission to work/study in further education

Question 4

what happened at a women’s congress one time?

Answer 4

he was cheered in 1918 for suggesting that baba, a derogatory name for women, should be banned

Question 5

december…

Answer 5

1917
- equal pay
- maternity leave arrangements granted

Question 6

soviet constitution of…

Answer 6

1918
- equal rights

Question 7

what did he try to do in central asia & how?

Answer 7

break down the traditional values by using young female activists who encouraged unveiling & explained basic contraception, personal hygiene & childcare

Question 8

campaign in central asia

Answer 8

1927 = against the veiling of women
- some success = opportunities for muslim women increased

Question 9

what did divorce being made easier do?

Answer 9

• rise in divorce rate = didn’t help women support children
• few received financial support from the dad
• 70% initiated by men, often abandoning their pregnant wives

Question 10

attitude of male population

Answer 10

slow to change

Question 11

during the civil war

Answer 11

• although women got more work, their lives often got worse
• 70,000 in red army but few held high rank
• millions recruited into factories but childcare was inadequate
• gov lacked resources to provide creches

Question 12

post civil war

Answer 12

• women more likely to be unskilled
• many lost jobs when soldiers returned
• still belief that they weren’t fit for heavy manual work & less reliable due to pregnancy etc

Question 13

war & famine 1921-22

Answer 13

• left many homeless
• rise in prostitution amongst urban women

Question 14

in muslim areas of central asia…

Answer 14

• polygamous, male-dominated family was well established
• women shielded from public view, often veiled & denied education

Question 15

did attitudes change due to the 1927 campaign?

Answer 15

• very slow to change
• violent resistance

Question 16

baku

Answer 16

a zhenotdel meeting was attacked by muslim men with dogs & boiling water

Question 17

what happened to women who refused to wear traditional dress

Answer 17

sometimes killed by their family in ‘honour’ killings