This Polish politicians did not expect. When women were granted the right to vote, they went to the polls en masse and elected their representatives to the Seym. It was such an unusual situation that Piłsudski began his speech to the winners with the words "Gentlemen!", As if without noticing the presence of the ladies in the pews. What were the others doing?
The realities were completely new. Not only recently there was no deputy or parliament, there was not even Poland on the map. Now, enjoying the resurrection of their homeland, men at the same time had to get used to the fact that they had to give way to representatives of the supposedly weaker sex. The words of Piłsudski, who wished the "gentlemen" good luck, were therefore not accurate. Eight women sat on the parliamentary boards.
First of all, everyone had a problem naming politicians. Members of the lower house of parliament were called deputies. The female form has not existed so far, because… there was no such need. After the 1919 legislative elections, the situation changed. So they exercised by inventing "MPs", "MPs", "women's MPs", or "slips", and the press was the leader in creativity in this field. It was only after a few years that the term "female MP" became common.
"They are enemies of mankind"
In general, pre-war newspapers did not have a single gram of pity for women sitting on parliamentary seats. The satirical "Sparrows on the Roof", which happened to publish very indiscriminate jokes, made fun of the fact that the MPs spoke in a thin voice, and their stylish crepe toilets were made of a fire brigade in Nowe Miasto. Olga Wiechnik in the book “Posełki. The first eight women ” writes:
There are a lot of jokes about women who participate in public life. That they are members of the Society of Social Ladies; great friends of cats and enemies of the human race; that they propose a movie star as an MP; that when their husband told them to take care of the children, they replied that they did not have time, because they had to attend the meeting of the Children's Week Committee.
Election flyer of Gabriela Balicka (photo:public domain)
Instead of giving up and buckling under the pressure of mockery, the "MPs" went sharply to work. They did not attack their disrespectful colleagues from the Seym, but charged them with weighty arguments and accurate questions. For example, Zofia Moczydłowska, who already a month after the start of the parliamentary term, asked the minister of provisions if she was aware that there had been hunger riots in Częstochowa, and that children were going to the nurseries hungry and ragged.
Such an attitude of politicians and a firm demand that the Seym should focus on the issue of women's rights did not win over many supporters. Some of the Members of the House were of the opinion that women in the pews were simply good for nothing:both professionally and privately.
Among them was the priest, MP Bronisław Żongołłowicz (the position of the Church at that time allowed the clergy to exercise their passive voting rights). This member of the Nonpartisan Bloc for Cooperation with the Government wrote sharply and quite seriously, how lowly he values the deputies:
Married women are incapable of holding office ... Husband, bed, alcove and night work there, kitchen, making a meal, numerous family and husband relationships, acquaintances, parties, visits, cinemas, theater, they absorb all women's energy - the office has a washed mannequin in it, with high pretensions, inefficient at work, lazy, taking care of salaries only to dress up, get dressed, regardless of the husband (quoted after Fr. Wiechnik, "Members of Parliament. The Eight First Women" ).
Despite these unfavorable opinions, the MPs worked tirelessly to do as much as possible for Poland. They operated mainly in the field of social welfare and education. They chose poverty as their main enemy, both material and mental. They worked to improve the lives of the poor, fight drunkenness, develop the countryside, and reduce the frightening percentage of illiterate people in the country. They opted for building schools, increasing expenditure on education and improving hygiene conditions. True to the spirit of the saying "Dogs are barking, the caravan goes on", despite the logs being thrown at their feet, they were simply doing their best.
Source:
Trivia is the essence of our website. Short materials devoted to interesting anecdotes, surprising details from the past, strange news from the old press. Reading that will take you no more than 3 minutes, based on single sources. This particular material is based on the book:
- Olga Wiechnik, Members of Parliament. The first eight women , 2019 Poznań Publishing House.
Buy the book cheaper on Empik.com:
