Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-12-28 | Page 25 | Dutch Women Demand Rights

ITCH ID DEMMDJ RIGHTS Change in Laws Which Discriminate Against Them Being Sought. (By the Associated Press.) THP1 HAGUE, Ijoj. 27. The ideals and ideas of Dutch women, for centuries confined con-fined to children, kitchen and church, have undergone a change, and the daughters daugh-ters of the land of windmills and canals are making a strong fight for their rights. Several grea t organizations have been formed for improvement of the conditions of women. With lite revision of the Dutch constitution last year, women obtained ob-tained full suffrage and tlie result is that now there are women in nearly every ; town council. j Realizing, however, that tlie possession of the vote alone does not decide the lot of women, the promoters of the movement are now seeking to bring a hour, changes in the laws and regulations which discriminate dis-criminate against the se: economically, and socially. "According 16. the Duleh law," f aid "Mrs. Wi.iuamlts Francken, on; of the leader.- of I lie women's movement, "t hn j fattier has practically "al! the say' about the education of the children. f Tc decides de-cides as to their future, consents to theii . marriage and may send tiium whereve j he likes. Of course, this is or no im- I portance whatever m a good marriage. where father and' mother together debate about such things, but this powi-r of the father mav easily be abused. I know of several cses in which the father deliberately delib-erately took a child away and hid it from its mother, without the latter being able to do anything against Eliis course, I as the law was on Tne sme oi me ia:ner. "A not her thorn in the flesh of The Dutch woman is that she must promise obedience to her husband in the vow of marriage. Now. pbiase, don't think that these women are averse io rule and order. They only want to be the equals of their husbands, not their housekeepers. housekeep-ers. "As things are now, :t Dutch woman has to suffer almost anything from a trvannlfal husband and nothing short of adultery or bodily ill usage cjui rid hc-r ! of his "despotism."