A member of the International Women’s Secretariat of the Comintern, and head of its Western Europe bureau, Hertha Sturm reports on the Women’s Conference that accompanied the recently patched-up Labour and Socialist International that saw the old right-wing Second, and the recent, somewhat less right-wing, Second and a Half Internationals rejoin each other.

‘After the Women’s Conference of the New International’ by Hertha Sturm from International Press Correspondence. Vol. 2 No. 43. June 14, 1923.

The International Conference of Women, preceding the Hamburg Unity Congress of the 2nd and 2 1/2 Internationals clearly reflected all those features characteristic of the Reformist Congress. But the more closely condensed agenda of the Conference, which was limited to one day, the less careful preparation and organization, the lesser political astuteness of both leaders and delegates served but to enhance the impression of the complete bankruptcy of the newly rigged up international.

While at the Congress Otto Bauer made an attempt, altogether remarkable in a social-democrat, towards analyzing the political and economic situation, so as to derive from it the tasks imposed on the international proletariat, the Women’s Conference failed to make even the most transient survey of the actual situation in general, and of the specific conditions of the female proletariat and the special forms of struggle that fall to them in particular. While the Congress did at least denounce the international reaction with its centres of danger, and pointed cut the necessity of fighting against it, even though the ways and means proposed for that struggle were quite unsatisfactory, the Women’s Conference seemed not to be aware of any hardships, of only suppression, or of any peril existing for the proletariat. Nor did one hear a word of class-struggle or revolution. All the resolutions agreed to by the conference were colorless and bore no relation to any of the urgent struggles of the working-class; in fact they could just as well have been accepted before the war. This was the case with regard to the resolution on Mother and Child protection as well as with regard to the Franchise for Women, the reconstitution of the International Women’s Day, resolved upon in 1910 in Copenhagen, and Education for Peace. And these resolutions, drawn up by commissions, was all that the Conference had to say on the most important item of its agenda: “The Task of the Women Socialists in the International”. There was no report on t, nor any declaration, based on principles, nor was any discussion of it entered upon. After having been read once, the resolutions were unanimously accepted.

If we lock closely into this sole tangible result of the Conference, we arrive at two conclusions: First, we recognize the fact that the most urgent problems, which are of the keenest interest and affect most closely the life of the proletarian women, were completely excluded from the sphere of discussion. Not a word about the High Cost of Living, nor about the burden of taxes, the attacks upon the eight hour day, the occupation of the Ruhr district, the burden of the reparations. On the other hand, the way the problem elected to be dealt with was treated, showed an utter lack of appreciation of its importance, and a pitiable helplessness in the face of the problems entered upon.

The demand for the political enfranchisement of women in those countries, where it has not been granted, is certainly Quite justified and necessary, especially as is one of the most efficacious means of making the women politically interested. The opportunist position of the Conference with regard to this question not only appeared in the numerous accounts of the delegates, rejoicing jubilantly in the number of seats conquered bv women in different national or provincial parliaments, and other public bodies, but stronger even in its actual position towards the problem of the women’s franchise in Belgium, that had been denied the women by the Belgian Social Democrats (Parti Ouvrier Belge) at their Easter Congress. There was no refutation offered at the Conference when the Belgian deputy himself justified this resolution, saying that owing to the franchise for women the social democratic party had lost several seats, from their scanty majority, with the result that the realization of laws in the interest of the workers, might be hindered.

Such parliamentary idiocy will, of course, have the effect that the Social Democratic International will not be able to fight earnestly for Women’s suffrage nor utilize this slogan for pointing out and sharpening class-opposition.

The demand for mother and child protection did not look so bad–on paper. With the Reformists however these demands are meant to form the object of mere parliamentary action. Considering that in many Parliaments the Social Democrats form a minority, and that even their majorities have, in numerous cases, sacrificed the most elementary measures of social welfare for the “good of the state”, that is, to the saving of the State-finances in the interest of strengthening the military power and the police, one sees clearly through the hollowness and frivolity of drawing up “programs”, whose only object is to make a sham action, thus sabotaging the actual and effective struggle.

The International Women’s Day becomes equally a farce, if every section is expressly declared to be free to celebrate on any day it chooses. It was highly necessary for Adelheid Pop to declare that this was not what is meant by the “liberty” of the parties, to celebrate the Women’s Day at will or otherwise.

The most catastrophic collapse of this Conference, however, was revealed through the resolution on education for peace. In face of the second and yet sterner ultimatum Curzon has addressed to Soviet Russia, with the vassal states of the Entente feverishly preparing for the most terrible of all imperialist wars, with the life and existence of Soviet Russia and of the proletariat at stake, these women recommend a better teaching of history in the schools! “When grown-up our children will reject the employment of brute force with disgust!” The policy of deliberate promoters of war could hardly be more criminal than this lulling of the working class by pacifist phrases, which will deliver the proletariat helplessly to is butchers. The wild accusations against Soviet Russia showed the same counter-revolutionary tendency. One was at a loss what to wonder at more: the impudence of these so-called Socialist women, perorating over the abolition of all the rights of the workers in Soviet Russia, since the days of the October-Revolution, or at the stupidity of the Conference, learning with indignation, that according to the new working-code in Russia, mothers working in the shops are only allowed half an hour’s pause for nursing their babes every 3 1/2 hours, instead of every 3 hours, while in all the capitalist countries, even in the most highly praised and most perfect democracies, such as Austria, Czecho-Slovakia and Germany, in spite of all the genuine social-democrats in the Parliaments, there have never been any pauses for nursing purposes allowed to the working mother, and while only lately the minister of Labor, Braun (Germany) refused this request together with others contained in the Washington Agreement, as financially impossible.

A characteristic interlude, i.e. a political quarrel between the Second and the 2 1/2 about democracy and socialism, that had broken out between two delegates from two of the five different socialist parties of Czecho-Slovakia, was quelled by the chairman. Even that was too much for a conference, that was only meant to treat of women’s problems!

The organizatory outcome of the Conference, the creation of an instrument for the international cooperation of the women Socialists is of a certain political importance. The plan of the work provides for the cooperation of the women politically organized in the new International, that is, the social democratic women with the trade-unionist women workers’ International and the International Cooperative Women’s Committee. The existence of the Communist International is not mentioned, though some of the delegates at the conference had sadly to admit the existence of strong communist parties, with a considerable number of women members.

Another remarkable feature in the debates were the energetic efforts of the representative of the socialist Party of Germany for a very strict centralization of the work among the women in the sphere of the general work of the parties, as well as that of the new International Executive. With really convincing reasons they declined to elect a special International Women’s Committee beside the general International Office, urging as their main point the acceptance of a woman secretary into the new Executive.

On the whole the Conference was the classical expression of the inability of the new International to lead the proletariat in its struggle for liberty, nor even to fight successfully for immediate demands. In this respect the women proletarians can expect as little from this International as can the whole proletariat. And yet this conference imposes upon the Communist International a new task: to denounce and to thwart those deceitful manoeuvres by which the Reformist International will try to confuse and to disorganize the great masses of the proletariat in its struggle for liberty. The Communist International will have to meet this danger by a keeper activity, by systematic contact with all the needs of the women of the proletariat and by a still more decided espousal of their demands in all their every-day struggles.

International Press Correspondence, widely known as”Inprecorr” was published by the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) regularly in German and English, occasionally in many other languages, beginning in 1921 and lasting in English until 1938. Inprecorr’s role was to supply translated articles to the English-speaking press of the International from the Comintern’s different sections, as well as news and statements from the ECCI. Many ‘Daily Worker’ and ‘Communist’ articles originated in Inprecorr, and it also published articles by American comrades for use in other countries. It was published at least weekly, and often thrice weekly.

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