Swiss Catholic Women's Association
The Swiss Catholic Women's Association (SKF) is an umbrella organization for all Catholic women's associations in Switzerland. It was founded on May 21, 1912 and is based in Lucerne . The forerunner of the SKF was the Catholic Women's Association , which existed from 1906 to 1909 .
history
The umbrella organization of the Catholic women's associations was founded on the initiative of the Swiss Catholic People's Association in response to the confessionally neutral, but Protestant- oriented Federation of Swiss Women's Associations.
The main goal was the "preservation and promotion of Catholic life in the family, community and state". SKF was politically active in the fight against “immorality” and against the political and economic equality of women. The SKF's negative stance towards women's suffrage was expressed in some cases. a. by submitting several submissions to the Federal Council that one should please abandon the topic. For example, at the end of 1918 / beginning of 1919, when the national councilors Greulich and Göttisheim submitted their motions for introducing women's suffrage: The idea of political equality was a Bolshevik one , it was said from the ranks of the SKF. In the minimum program of the Olten Action Committee presented to the Federal Council in 1918 (see state strike ), women’s right to vote was called for, among other things. The SVF officially supported this demand. At the end of 1918, not only the SVF, but also the BSF and the SGF supported the motions of the.
SKF got involved in practical charitable work: maternal and infant care and helping the mountain population were among its main areas of activity. In April 1918, the SKF founded the social charitable women's school in Lucerne - the first school for social work in Switzerland. Outpatient care led by SKF women later became Spitex . Tasks such as care, orphan care and kindergarten were also initiated by active SKF women, which were later taken over by the communities.
Publications
Since 1913, the SKF has published the journal «Die Katholische Schweizerin» under the editorship of the St. Gallen writer Anna Sartory . From 1943 onwards, the magazine under the title “Die Schweizerin - Zeitschrift für Frauenart und Frauenarbeiten” was aimed at all Christian women and in some cases even took a supra-Christian approach. After 1969 the paper was called “Schweizerin” for short and in 1971 it was merged with “Die Evangelische Schweizerfrau” to form steps into the open , since the social question no longer arose as to whether it was Catholic or Reformed, but rather Christian or non-denominational.
“The Catholic Family” was published as a partner magazine for “Die Katholische Schweizerin” for mothers. This was later called “marriage and family”, “woman and family” and from 1999 to 2005 “Frauenbunt”.
These two magazines were aimed at the educated, professional, mature and married women, respectively. For younger women who were not yet married there was the magazine of the Marian Congregation for the Virgin (Marienkind / Our Leader, later Ancilla / Mirjam).
Mission statement and profile
Today the association has around 200,000 members. The association structure provides for an association board for the strategic management of the association, as well as an office, which is headed by a managing director, for the operational implementation of the decisions made. The SKF is divided into 19 cantonal associations, which are based on the various local associations.
SKF runs two social services. The solidarity fund for mother and child SOFO helps women who are in need due to pregnancy, childbirth or childcare quickly and unbureaucratically. The Elisabethenwerk works according to the motto “By women - For women”. Specific support is given to women’s projects in countries in the South such as India, Uganda, Kenya and Bolivia.
SKF is committed to a just future not only with its social works, but also in international affairs. For example, SKF is a founding member of the European Alliance of Catholic Women's Associations Andante and a member of WUCWO ( World Union of Catholic Womens Organizations ) and thus maintains networks with foreign organizations.
See also
literature
- Christa Mutter: "The Holy Religion is the supporting foundation of the Catholic women's movement." On the development of the Swiss Catholic Women's Association. In: Working Group Women's History Basel (Ed.): On the traces of the female past. Contributions to the 4th Swiss Conference of Women Historians [1987]. Chronos , Zurich 1988, ISBN 3-905278-32-4 , pp. 183-198. (Contributions partly in German, partly in French)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Künzler, Mirjam: Sexualmoral in Catholic women's and family magazines 1945–1990. Freiburg i. Ü., 2003: Academic Press Friborg.
- ↑ HLS: Swiss Catholic Women's Association
- ↑ www.frauenbund.ch
- ↑ www.sofo.ch
- ↑ www.elisabethenwerk.ch