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p In socialist countries motherhood is recognised as a social function of tremendous importance. With the benefit of the Soviet Union’s experience in this sphere effective measures are implemented to ensure that motherhood and childhood will be protected, that children will be properly raised and educated, and that working and living conditions will improve. These measures allow women to participate in social labour while fulfilling their family and civic responsibilities. The measures form an integral part of the national state programmes and are financed by the state. In rural areas collective agricultural concerns also contribute to these goals.

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p The rights of mother and child are guaranteed in the constitutions and laws of socialist countries. Maternity leave is regulated by laws, which also prescribe favourable working conditions for women: when pregnancy occurs a woman is allowed to do lighter work while retaining her former average salary; she is given paid maternity leave beft re and after confinement and (if she iO desires) she is granted an additional period of unpaid leave with the right to return to her place of work (in certain countries a woman receives financial aid during this period); during the first year after the birth of the child the woman is allowed a shorter working day (while retaining her wages); if the child becomes sick she is allowed to stay at home and is paid as if on a sick leave; children receive state financial aid. Laws also stipulate a number of privileges and special forms of aid to single mothers and mothers with many children.

p Taking into consideration a woman’s physiology, the law does not allow to engage women in heavy labour, which are specified in legislative acts.

p A number of privileges are stipulated for women on old age pensions, with supplementary privileges for mothers with several children.

p The laws of socialist countries stipulate and guarantee the growth and improvement of medical institutions network: maternity homes, maternity consulting centres, pediatric and gynaecological clinics and hospitals, dispensaries, rest homes for mothers and children, free medical care.

p In the Mongolian People’s Republic 92.4 per cent of all women give birth in maternity homes, and all women receive free medical care. In 82 cities and aimak (district) centres there is a system of district medical inspection for children one year old or less, in which doctors provide systematic medical examinations for children in their homes. Comfortable, modern rest homes are provided for women belonging to agricultural associations; they can spend their leave time here both before and after giving birth. During the past five years financial assistance for women with several children has increased by 50 per cent.

p In Bulgaria medical assistance is provided in 98.6 per cent of all deliveries (in 1948, by comparison, the figure was only 49.1 per cent). The rate of death of mothers in childbirth has been reduced to 0.5 per thousand, and since the advent of socialism the infant mortality rate has been reduced 500 per cent—to 27 infant deaths per thousand births. In 1972, there were 2,576 children’s and gynaecological clinics. This is five times more than the number in 1939. From the time of birth to adulthood, all children and adolescents are kept under periodical medical observation. During the period of pregnancy and childbirth a woman is given paid leave for 120 to 180 calendar days, depending on how many times she has given birth. In addition she receives a six- to eight-month leave, receiving financial assistance equivalent to the minimum wage. If she wishes she may remain on leave without maintenance until the child is three years old, the period being reckoned as part of her total time spent on the job.

p The results of a seven-year programme of research and observation involving 350 thousand children aged 1 to 18 have recently been published in Rumania. The study indicates that as a result 83 of improved health care for children and the rising living standard of families, children in individual age groups are now on the average 2.75 inches taller and 15.6 pounds heavier than children in respective age groups seven years ago.

p In Hungary women receive a five-month maternity leave with full salary maintenance. They may extend their leave of absence until the child is three; during this period they receive 600 forints per month. Their job is held for them during their absence. A family receives additional financial aid after the birth of the second child.

p In Czechoslovakia paid maternity leave extends for 26 weeks. In Czechoslovakia the grants that are paid to the parents after each child is born and the subsequent monthly payments were increased. Supplementary monthly aid for a family with two children is 430 crowns, for a family with three children—880 crowns, and for a family with four children—1,280 crowns. An additional 2,000 crowns is provided after the birth of each child.

p In the Democratic Republic of Vietnam a network of committees has been set up for motherand-child protection. There is also an operating Institute for the Protection of Mothers and Children and a Child Health Institute. There is a well developed network of medical establishments throughout the country, including maternity stations and maternity homes. In regions that underwent the severest bombing attacks maternity homes were functioning deep underground. From 1955 to 1972 the number of pediatricians, obstetricians and gynaecologists increased twentyfold. The rate of death in childbirth was 20 per thousand in 1945; today it is 0.95 per thousand. Infant mortality has been reduced to 1.2 per 84 cent—30 Limes lower Llian in 1945. We should remember that these reductions were achieved during the long years of struggle against colonialism.

p In pre-revolutionary Cuba only 20 per cent of childbearing women received medical attention. In 1973, 87 per cent of children were born in maternity homes. Midwife stations have been established in even the most outlying regions of the country.

p Thus we see that socialist slates are deeply concerned about the welfare of mother and child. A significant portion of the budget of these countries is devoted to the development of institutions serving mothers and their children, providing them with maintenance and free medical care, paid maternity leave and financial assistance for their families.

p Women’s participation in social labour means that her domestic tasks and the raising of children should be made easier. In providing aid to working married women socialist states are considering the interests of the family as a whole, coordinating tasks which face the working woman and the family as the smallest, but at the same time most basic social unit.

p In the past several years socialist countries have sponsored sociological studies, international and national forums on the problems of working women and the family. In examining what sort of influence a woman’s outside work has on her family, a number of sociologists assert that such work separates a woman from her family, from her duties as a wife and mother. Others (and they constitute the majority) are convinced that participation in the social labour helps a woman to develop, allows her to assert her personality, 85 to enhance her authority in the family, gives her moral satisfaction, and consequently makes it easier for her to fulfil her family role. What is important, these sociologists say, is not how much time a woman devotes to her family and children, but how that time is used.

p Many sociologists believe (and one must agree with them) that for a family to function properly, i.e., to provide the best environment for raising children and at the same time to lighten the working woman’s domestic load, it is imperative for husband and wife to share domestic chores fairly, to assume equal responsibility in raising the children. Sociologists rightly see this as one of the most important ways of lessening the domestic load a woman must bear and providing her with the free time she needs for her spiritual development. Many families, most of them young, have already put this principle into practice. In other families, however, old prejudices remain: domestic chores are assumed to he the exclusive sphere of women, below the dignity of the husband. In socialist countries educational work is being done to change these attitudes.

p Besides carrying out general educational work dealing with problems of the family, marriage, and the raising of children, socialist countries also carry out work preparing youth for family life. There are seminars, lectures, films and discussions on all aspects of the family and marriage; books are discussed, theatrical and film presentations pertaining to this subject are organised. In Bulgaria, for example, national and local newspapers have for several years devoted a page per week to the problems of women a:d family life. Radio and television programmes are also devoted to such problems.

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p In all parts of Hungary there are advice bureaus that handle problems of family life. During the 1974/75 school year, secondary schools, training institutes for teachers and doctors, youth organisations and the army started work on the education of youth to help them prepare for family life. Young spouses-to-be are assured advice and consultation on such problems as the creation of a family, the obligations of spouses to each other and towards children, and so on.

p Following the example of Polish women, the German Democratic Republic has set up consultation centres which help men and women to determine rationally how domestic responsibilities should be shared. These centres also help young people to prepare for marriage and family life and teach school-age children how they can help their parents around the home.

p But the fair allocation of domestic responsibilities between husband and wife does not solve all problems. An analysis of the experience of socialist countries has shown that the answer to these problems lies in the development and perfecting of social services and the system of trade and public catering, in an increase in the number of establishments serving the needs of children, more efficient management of domestic tasks, the availability of necessary home appliances, the constant improvement of social services, and so on.

p In planning the development of the national economy socialist states provide for the yearly growth of institutions providing consumer services to the public, and the development of all forms of public transport. These plans are implemented under the strict supervision of state organs, as well as women’s organisations and 87 labour unions. Children’s establishments are not only constructed at state expense, the state also provides most of the funds for the children’s upkeep and education.

p In Bulgaria, 100 per cent of the population lives in localities provided with electricity, and 95 per cent in localities with their own watersupply system. An extensive network of cafeterias has been set up in various factories and establishments, on cooperative farms and in educational institutions. At present there are more than 20 thousand public catering establishments in the country. In the last few years 350 district, city and regional consumer service establishments have been constructed. A total of 1,500 consumer service establishments have been coordinated into a system which provides a complete range of services to the population.

p More than a thousand year-round creches and approximately 600 seasonal creches are provided for children under the age of three. More than 300,000 children aged three to six (65 per cent of the children in this age group) go to kindergartens. There are more than 3,000 extended-day orroups and schools in the country. Every year 300,000 children go to Young Pioneer camps. There are hundreds of playgrounds and toy rooms available for public use, as well as Young Pioneer clubs, sports classes, hobby groups and children’s libraries, where children can spend their leisure hours.

p In 1973 alone, the German Democratic Republic constructed nurseries and kindergartens capable of accommodating 14,800 children. At the present time more than 70 per cent of the children in the three-to-six age group attend kindergartens, and more than 50 per cent of the 88 children in the six-to-ten age bracket join extended-day groups during after-school hours.

p In Rumania there are 12,500 pre-school establishments capable of accommodating 700,000 children. The next development plan (1976-1980) calls for the construction of nurseries to accommodate 100,000 children, and kindergartens for an additional 120,000 children in order to assure the availability of these facilities for all children. More than a million children attend kindergartens in Poland. Half the children in the cities and a quarter of the children in the country can go to kindergartens. Thousands of children take part in the activities of “red-room” clubs during after-school hours.

p In the Mongolian People’s Republic the network of nurseries and kindergartens continues to expand every year. In 1974, 30 per cent of all pre-school children attended them. Children can take advantage of numerous facilities during their free time: there are 160 children’s cinemas, 124 radio stations, 171 children’s musical ensembles, 77 children’s meteorological stations, 30 children’s libraries and 279 reading-rooms. The work of these establishments is directed by volunteer specialists and people prominent in the arts.

p During a ten-year period (1961-1970) the number of nurseries in the Korean People’s Democratic Republic increased 83 times, and the number of kindergartens 64 times. At the present time 2,800,000 children attend these institutions. This allows the majority of working mothers to place their children in well equipped children’s establishments which, as in other socialist countries, are maintained at state expense.

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p The same process is at work in Cuba, the youngest member of the socialist family. Here there are more than 600 nurseries and kindergartens accommodating close to 50,000 children, all of whom are provided with free food, clothing and medical care. In 1971, the Institute for Children was founded; this scientific research centre is devoted to the study of child rearing and development in all its aspects.

p A broad network of boarding schools for children of various ages and grades has been set up; it is al«o of tremendous help to working mothers. In 1973, almost 43,000 children were enrolled in secondary boarding schools, where they received free tuition, food, medical care, and even clothing and school supplies. In stores and consumer service establishments working women are given priority. Workers’ cafeterias have been established in factories and offices. The “jaba” plan, a system designed to broaden the network of stores and various consumer service establishments serving the family, is now being implemented across the country.

p The state is not the only ascent responsible for the welfare of women mothers. Women’s and youth organisations, trade unions, parent-teacher associations, home committees, and societies devoted to children and their upbringing—all take an active part in this work. These organisations supervise the activities of children’s establishments and those providing consumer services, administer playgrounds and sports grounds, and arrange for children’s activities in communal courtyards.

p The introduction of labour-saving gadgets and efficient household management play a large 90 role in easing a woman’s domestic workload. This is the concern not only of the state, but of society as well. The experience of the Polish People’s Republic is particularly interesting in this respect. Various organisations disseminate information and teach women how to conduct their domestic affairs in the most efficient way: the League of Polish Women, cooperative organisations in the city and country, farm women’s associations, the Opinia Bureau of Consumer Co-operation, and even scientific research institutes—the Institute of Nutrition and Provisions, the Mother and Child Institute, the State House of Hygiene, the Institute of Labour Medicine and Rural Hygiene, and the Institute of Agricultural Economics. These institutes organise experimental centres, courses, exhibitions, lectures, reports and discussions, carry out research on the management of the household, and disseminate literature.

_p Cooperatives have created the Practical Woman centres which concentrate their educational activities on household management and consumer services. In rural areas such centres are called the Modern Farm Woman. In 1970, there were 1,700 such centres in villages across the country. In rural areas there are also associations of farmers’ wives which instruct women not only in the efficient management of the household, but also in the raising of children.

p Courses in home economics are part of the secondary school curriculum in Poland.

p Radio, television, Society for the Dissemination of Knowledge, trade unions, youth organisa tions, publishing houses and women’s magazines also make substantial contributions in this field of work.

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p The laws governing marriage and family life in socialist countries, beginning with those passed in the immediate postwar period, have always been based on the concept of total equality of husband and wife. In each country the constitution and laws regarding the family relations view marriage contracted with the free consent of both parties as the basis of the family; both spouses have equal rights and responsibilities with respect to each other and to their children. They also have equal right to jointly obtained property. Laws rigorously protect the interests of children, regardless of whether they were born in or out of wedlock. Marriage does not interfere with a woman’s right to work, nor does it encroach upon her civil liberties.

p But it would be a mistake to conclude that all problems relating to motherhood and childhood, to the creation of conditions which allow women to engage in productive social labour and administrative work, have been solved in socialist countries. These problems are being dealt with every day. They are under constant review by Communist and Workers’ Parties and by the government bodies of socialist countries.

These countries have made provisions in their plans for a further increase in the number of medical, educational and recreational institutions for children, an increase in the quality and quantity of consumer service establishments and public catering facilities and in the availability of semi-processed foodstuffs and labour-saving household appliances; efforts are being made to improve living and housing conditions for families, to provide a broader range of services and facilities for villages and cities. In the end these measures are bound to mean greater freedom from 92 domestic work for women and ever more significant aid from the state and from society in the raising of children. And that in turn implies that with each passing year women will have more and more time, not only to engage in productive labour and social life, but also to raise the level of their professional skills and qualifications and improve themselves mentally and spiritually.