The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-04-14
Modern Woman
Egypt Of All Lands the Scene Of
a Woman's Rights Agitation.
One Egyptian Husband Himself
Emancipated His Wife. ::

W0man's rights under the nose of
the sphinx is something hardly believ-
ablepyet it has come. Perhaps it is
not SO strange, however, for the sphinx
itself is half woman In Cairo a promi-
nent Egyptian gentleman has started
what Is known as an open harem,
though in his case the harem consists
of one woman, his legal wife, Il beau
tiful and accomplished lady. He has
opened his home to society of both
sexes and introduces his wife freely
to gentlemen, which is something IN
heard of in Mohammedan man. At
her receptions the wife appears dress
ed In western costume and wears no
veil. Egypt is seething with feminine
revolt-revolt against wearing the veil
and being shut behind walls. Tourists
from western lands have wrought the
change since the British occupation of
the Nile country. Stories penetrated
even harem walls of how English and
American women appeared In public
unveiled, how they sat at table with
their husbands and daily saw and con-
versed with men acquaintances their
husbands even approving. This Great
ed excitement among harem women.
Those who were favorites gave their
lords no rest until at length they got
the privilege OF being taken to Europe.
where these, to their minds, free wo-
men dwelt. Next thing in the free
women's countries the harem women
nagged their masters till they. too OBJ
tanned the privilege of going unveiled
through the streets and shops of west
ern cities. That was the entering
wedge, and the rest is only ques-
ton of time AS things look, it will
not be very long time. for Egyptian
women of the higher classes are now
being educated, even with the approval
of their men.
Some women when they reach the
age of forty or fifty seem to give mp
every pleasant thing in life and slump
down as if they were already dead and
buried. Its no matter what I wear
or how | look" they say. MY mar
ket's made" Just as if all in this
world that pretty clothes and an at
tractive appearance are for is to catch
husband! Rightly looked at. there is
more In life for the woman of fifty
who has properly learned from her ex-
perience than for the girl of eighteen
Perk up and don't let yourself look
like fright because you have grown
daughters. See If you can't be even
hahdsomer and brighter than they are
You owe it to yourself and to them too
An old circus acrobat says the most
popular strong act is that in which
u not large woman walks off the stage
carrying three and sometimes four
men. He also says the woods are full
of young women who can be trained te
do this act They are almost without
exception girls who have been brought
MP on farms or i'll country villages.
Two years of training with dumbbells
Indian clubs and other athletic appli-
ances prepares them. The training
should not begin before the age of
eighteen.
A medical prescription of new clothes
has been occasionally found to cure
women of various ailments of mind
and body. Ii is odd but the cure won't
work at all with men.
One who thinks the old days were
better than these days declares that
women were happier hundred years
ago than they are today. WE'LL per-
haDs. but what of it? Which would
you rnther be-the woman of cen
fury ago who did not know how to
read and write. or the feminine col-
lege graduate. physician, author or
fortune acquiring business woman of
today?
New York city women public school
teachers are working in earnest for the
equalization of their salaries with those
of men Instructors in the same grades. |
A bill equalizing the pay of the sexes
in the schools was introduced into the |
legislature at Albany early in the SEES
sion of 1901 and no measure has been
fought over as vigorously as this. On
one occasion 400 women teachers, all
from New York city, appeared in the
statehouse to work for the bill It is /
not to the credit of the New York men /
teachers that SO many of them opposed I
It, What has become of American chiv- /
airy?
A Connecticut club of young women
imposed fine on any member of their
body who should tell lie or swear
during Lent. Why duriag Lent?
Women's colleges in the east are
overcrowded Bryn Mawr, which has
been called the woman's university. is
greatly in need of money to increase its
scope of usefulness. Here is hint to
those misguided women who make
great requests to mems universities
which exclude girl students. 1t is high
time women did something for their
own sex.