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WFUWO NEWS W O R L D F E D E R A T I O N O F U K R A I N I A N W O M E N ’ S O R G A N I Z A T I O N S No. 5 Noteworthy Anniversary December, 1965 ANNIVERSARY OF THE INTERNATIONAL DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S FEDERATION The Soviet press recently gave extensive newspaper coverage to the anniversary of the found ing of the International Demo cratic Women’s Federation, which has its headquarters unites representatives of 141 million women in 66 countries. Its constitution emphasizes peace and th e protection of wom en’s political, economic, and so cial rights. This is general infor m ation which the Soviet press readily distributes about this large and powerful organization. As we read about this anni versary however, we should keep in mind th a t while independent women’s organizations are ad vocated and supported in the Free World, they are outlawed in the USSR. The Federation, which is ad vertised so readily, is dedicated to the ideals of the Russian Com m unist regime. Among its most recent activities one need only recall its strong condemnation of U. S. m ilitary participation in Vietnam, and its hostile attack against China at the Federa tion’s Congress which was held in Moscow in 1963. Sixty-six countries formed member organizations of the In ternational Democratic Women’s Federation. Who are these wom en who fell for the blatant pro paganda of the Russian Commu nist regim e? Are they merely victims of a naive faith in a bet ter tomorrow, or are they active proponents of the Communist ideology who m asquerade behind pacifist slogans ? If they are merely victims of a misguided faith in Communist promises of world peace, we can and should make every effort to dispel their groundless suppositions. In 1964 U krainian women’s organizations throughout the world m arked an im portant an niversary —- the beginning of the U krainian women’s move m ent, which was officially in augurated 80 years ago, in De cember, w ith the founding of the first women’s organizations in Kiev and Stanislaviv. As the Jubilee year draws to a close, we m ay ask ourselves why has this anniversary evoked such world-wide interest? To answer this question, we need to understand the present-day situation of the organized U k rainian women. In Ukraine vol untary women’s organizations are outlawed, and an indepen dent women’s movement does not exist. The traditions of this once-flourishing movement are continued only in Ukrainian com m unities in the Free World. It is therefore understandable th a t the 14 U krainian women’s or ganizations which are united in the World Federation of U krain ian Women’s Organizations would desire to recall these tra ditions and combine them with the new ideas and undertakings of their current work. Some interesting characteris tics m ay be gleaned from the ob servances, especially since the 80th anniversary of the U krain ian women’s movement coincid ed w ith the 15th anniversary of WFUWO. WFUWO Conferences to m ark the 80th anniversary of _ the founding of the first Ukrainian women’s organization, were held in Philadelphia on December 30, 1963, and in New York on April 5, 1964. Prom inent guest lectur ers examined the development tendencies of the civic, economic, and cultural life in U kraine and the participation of women in this development, thus present ing a thorough study of the posi tion of the Ukrainian woman in the Ukrainian Soviet Republic. The Conferences were notewor thy examples of the interest which U krainian women’s organ izations have in the life process in Ukraine, and its actual, rath er than officially publicized devel opment. Somewhat different was the April 5, 1964 Conference which was held in Toronto, Canada. A youth forum presented its views on civic work, and more specific ally on women’s organizations. This gave rise to m any interest ing revelations. It was learned, for example, th a t the younger members have a different ap proach to the organization’s work than the older members, and, in fact, are often critical of some of their work. This normal clash between generations be came apparent during the forum , before it had a chance to appear in organizational work. Yet, still another characteris tic is notew orthy. A t the U krain ian women’s Conference which was held on July 27, 1965, in Melbourne, A ustralia, an a rt ex hibit and literary evening was presented in addition to the Business Session. Both the a rt exhibit and literary evening pre sented the creative work of Uk rainian women in the Free World. These varied program s point out the fact th a t U krainian wom en are sensitive to new ideas and eagerly employ modern methods in their organizational activities, while safeguarding the trad i tions of the U krainian women’s movement. НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ — ГРУДЕНЬ, 1965 17
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