Ch 21 (pp. 1035-1068)

Ch 21 (pp. 1035-1068) 

Chapter 21 discusses socialism and the global reaction to communism. While the chapter focuses on several different questions, I was interested by the section on communist feminism. This section stated that communist nations pioneered the women's liberation that were later put in place in the West. Russia is a prime example as they gave women full legal and political equality. They also legalized divorce, abortion, and declared that working pregnant women be given pregnancy leave. A group in Russia, known as Zhenotdel,  pushed a strong feminist agenda. This included publishing newspapers and magazines aimed at female audiences, teaching literacy and prenatal classes, and encouraging Muslim women to remove their veils. This transform the previously uneducated, illiterate females in the working class into stronger, independent women who knew their rights and a responsibility for what was happening in their country.