The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-11-03
THE WOMEN OF ICELAND

The women OF Iceland are never idle.
Each family supplies its own wants in
food and raiment. The people live prin-
cipally by sheep rearing and fishing. and
the women work as hard as the men for
a livelihood. They also take a large share
In the agricultural work that is done on
the island, says the Queen. They ride
about the country disposlng OF the things
they make and they may be seen loading
up the cargo boats.
During the long winter evenings they
spin. knit stockings. mittens. and shirts,
pmbrolder bed covers and saddle cloths.
and weave carpets: they are also experts
I'm the use Of vegetable dyes. Their out
door work IS very hard. for they have 70
fetch water for the cattle from long dis
tances and 20 help the men mend their
fishing implements. besides the bearing
and rearing Of children and the house
hold work. In spite of all. however. the
average duration of a woman's life is
considerably longer than a mans.
There is no society in Iceland as We I'M
derstand the word. but there is much
practical hospitality. The women are
proud OF their long pedigrees and the
broad acres which have been I'm their
families for centuries. No one is rich.
yet no one is very poor. They are digni-
fed. simple. and polite, and are all ex-
tremely well educated. II is rare 10 find
a man or woman who cannot read or
write.
The general culture have been OF very
high order for centuries and many learn
ed societies exist I'm the country The
girls receive the same education as their
brothers. there are also middle grade and
grammar schools where they study, and
they are allowed TO qualify and practice
as doctors. There are only about thirty
schools in the island. and those who can
not attend them receive instruction from
the local clergymen or from wandering
teachers.
The love OF literature and of learning
for IS own sake Is general among the
people. They all know the Sagas. and
their eyes glow with pride as they repeat
the stories Of the heroic deeds OF their
ancestors in the former glorious days OF
their country's history while European
standard works have been translated into
lcelandic and are read aloud and enjoyed
at many a cottage ireside. Some Of the
farmers are at the same time learned
men and even scholars
In some respects the Icelandlc women
occuply a better position than their sis
tiers in England and In other European
lands. In 1850 a law was passed giving
them equal rights OF inheritance with
their brothers, but u was not until TWEEN
ty-four years later. when the right OF
self-government was given 10 the coun-
try, that they began 10 take an active
part in public affairs. and since then the
women's movement I'm Iceland has pro-
crossed steadily. Within the last three
years It has gone forward by leaps and
bounds. and though we hear little about
II outside. it is one Of the most vigorous
I'm Europe.
In 1881 unmarried women and widows
over twenty-five who were householders
or self-supportlng were given the vote
for parish and town councils and four
teen years later the ICelandic Women's
Alliance was founded, its main object be-
ing to improve the position Of the women
OF the country. Its members realized at
once that the first step must be toward
obtaining the political Acknowledgement Of