The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1934-11-16
NEW WOMEN In OLD ASIA

l recall only once an unpleasant
incident took place. A few Hin
doc comrades who were on their
way to Moscow, to the Comintern,
expressed a desire to bring their
greetings from revolutionary India
to the new comrades-the Moslem
women of Central Asia. We should
have warned the women to pull
down their paranjas before we
brought in the guests. But our
guard failed US. The tall, grace
full, handsome Hindoos, about 1S
of them, solemnly, slowly, one af-
ter another marched into the hall
just as the women were at the
height of informality. A cry of
horror pierced the hall. The wom-
en- dashed for safety. Many liter
ally fell to the floor in an attempt
to hide their faces. The thorough
ly embarrassed and nonplUssed
guests were made to occupy the
first rows and were instructed not
to turn their heads. They must
have felt terribly foolish to sit
motionless for such a long time.
They begged to be excused. Of
course, their greeting to the audi
ence of "coffins with black lids"
had lost great deal of its fervor.
Stories about our parties, our
appeals, and explanations spread
throughout the city and penetrated
far into rural districts, More and
more women began to come to oul
department-now it was a woman
beaten by her husband, now it was
youngster forced into marriage.
Weeping, at times bleeding, came
old women, middle aged mothers,
little girls; often on their knees,
grasping at our skirts, Selling our
hands, imploring for help. Willy
nilly we had to NEEDLE in the in
innate lives of these people. We
tried to be cautious, tactful, not
to arouse any resentment. Not in
frequently, we had couples come.
The husband, serious, morose, in
one corner of the office; the wife,
sobbing, in another; both demand
ing justice. We began to appear
before the native judges, the CASH,
trying to combat their casuistry
and their Anticipated laws. And,
| repeat, we never got into serious
trouble with the native men.
The work of the department was
growing, its influence spreading.
Between the years 1919 and 1922
scores of conferences and congress-
es were held. In 1920, the first
trip of Central Asian women to
Moscow took place.
This news caused a considerable
sensation among the natives. Our
message of woman's emancipation
was penetrating to the villages.
Women's clubs and schools were
beginning to be opened in various
sections of the country. The CEN
trail executive committee of Tur-
kestan now felt the time ripe for
making polygamy, forced marriag-
es, and marriages of minors Grim
inal offenses. Our labor was bear
ing fruit.
The Attack on Old Ideas
To return to Khoziat and Feiz-
ula. Tashkent, where the newly
weds went to live, was the center
of European culture in Central
Asia. 1t had big European pop
ulation Tin the new city, with sew
eral modern educational institu-
tons. It had a large and strongly
organized working class, mainly
railway workers. AS the capital
of Turkestan, it was the first CITY
in this part of the world to estab-
fish the Soviet regime, and was
now the general headquarters Of
the Communist party in Central
Asia. From Tashkent as a center.
the Bolsheviki had sent the Soviet
armies to wage their victorious
battles against the counter-revolu-