The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1928-07-06
OPPORTUNITY FOR WOMEN OF
ALBANIA
BY Anne Sprague

ALBANIA
BY Anne Sprague
Came Sprague is well-informed
seeker for knowledge OF people and
customs. The following article is
from personal letter describing her
visit Albania.)
The hospitality of the Albanians
is proverbial. Such cordiality as
one meets everywhere is delightful.
Turkish coffee made cup by cup in
the tiny brass coffee pot, as only the
people of the Near East countries
know how to make 1t, is the constant
sight of welcome wherever you go.
When we visited the House OF Parli-
ament, where we met many OF the
interesting leading men of the new
government, we chatted over our
cups of Turkish coffee, in the pri-
vate audience room OF the President,
the President OF the Senate being
our host.
But it is of the women of Albania
1 started to tell you, and their long
history of influence in the national
and social life OF their country.
They have proved to be the strongest
conservative force there has been
for the preservation of the national
traditions, customs and language.
Although deprived Of the right of ed
ucation, they fought bravely against
much powerfully organized Turkish,
Slavic and Greek influence which
for hundreds OF years has worked to
denationalize and assimilate the Al
bantam people.
Also they instinctiyely saw that
polygamy as a danger both to the
rights of women and to the sacred
ness of the family. The Albanian
women are held in high repute, their
counsel is sought by husbands and
sons. However, their influence is
largely exerred within the family cir
Gle; women in public life are almost
unknown, and they are just entering
the teaching and nursing profess
sions.
This brings me to the important
question of education in this new
country so rich in history but so re-
tarded in development. because it
has only been free from Turkish
rule for fifteen years. You can i'm
agine what a task it has been to
create compulsory ed ucation
throughout the country; to get
enough school buildings to : house
the children, and teachers to teach
them. Yet that is what they are ac-
tually doing. Under Turkish rule
there were a few schools for boys in
the Turkish language.
The Hearth school, as they speak
of it there, has been the great means
of education in Albania. In home
after home, boys and girls have
gathered around the fireside at
night and the parents have related
the deeds of the Albanian heroes;
the ancient Albanian language has
been taught by father to son and
thus kept alive. This has been the
real educational force at work
through the centuries. and it has
kept the people ready for the more
formal education of schools and
books of today.
We visited some of the schools
and found eager, alert students.
Imagine the task with only subjects
of the lower grades as yet put into
the Albanian language! Primary
schools are well started; the girls
are coming rapidly, but in a country
which has been Turkish so long, the
education of women is not yet pop
ular idea. We found night schools
in full force in Tirana, hundreds OF
adults studying to make up for the
sad lack in their educational advan-
tages of other days.
The Kyrias Collegiate for girls is
4 tremendously courageous under
taking. Perhaps it is even more
striking in its accomplishment be-
cause its initiation and leadership
have been entirely Albanian. / saw
a great deal OF this school because
my hostess was its. founder some
twenty years ago in southern Alban-
ia, and now her sister, Pareskevi
Kyrias, is its capable president.
The history of this girls school
shows long struggle for existence
under the Turks, and during the
years of the World War it had to be
closed entirely for the country was
invaded by foreign troops of first
one country and then another. 1t
was opened four years ago in Tirana,
the capital. and its development has
been rapid with the independence of
the country. 1t has become the cen
tire to which girls from the higher
class of Albanian families come and
from which they go back to their
various cities and villages as teach
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