Английская Википедия:Berta Pīpiņa

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Berta Pīpiņa (née Berta Ziemele; 28 September 1883 – 1942) was a Latvian teacher, journalist, politician and women's rights activist. She was the first woman elected to serve in the Saeima although there was six female members Constitutional Assembly of Latvia from May 1, 1920, until November 7, 1922, when the 1st Saeima convened. Active in women's rights, during her time in the Riga City Council and the Saeima, she strove to enact laws and policies to promote women's equality and protect families. When Soviet troops occupied Latvia, she was deported to Siberia, her life was removed from encyclopedias, and she died in a gulag.

Early life

Berta Ziemele was born on 28 September 1883 in the Code parish of the Russian Empire,Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn in what is now the Baltic state of Latvia, to Liza (née Kula) and Jekabs Ziemelis. Her parents worked a farm and ran an inn. Ziemele attended the Girls' Grammar School, a state operated primary facility in Шаблон:Ill, before attending the Beķeris Girls’ Preliminary Gymnasium in Bauska, which offered women four years of secondary schooling.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Career

In 1901, Ziemele began teaching in Kharkiv, now in Ukraine.Шаблон:Sfn Between 1904 and 1908, she studied in Berlin under Dr. Liebman to learn speech therapy techniques to assist disabled children.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn The following year, she traveled to Switzerland and Russia to expand her knowledge of educational systems. Returning to Latvia in 1910, Ziemele married Ermanis Pīpiņš,Шаблон:Sfn (1873–1927), who was a book reviewer, journalist and literary critic.Шаблон:Sfn The couple subsequently had three children: daughters, Biruta and Nora and son, Jānis.Шаблон:Sfn

When Latvia gained its independence in 1918, Pīpiņa began active participation in social and political issues. She was one of the founders of the Democratic Center Party and was elected to serve on its Central Committee,Шаблон:Sfn the first woman elected to serve on a party's central governing body.Шаблон:Sfn In 1919, she was elected to the Riga City CouncilШаблон:Sfn and began working on issues like public drinking and concerns focused around women and children.Шаблон:Sfn She was appointed to the Supply Commission and spoke at numerous events about women's issues.Шаблон:Sfn Around 1922, she joined the Latvian Women’s National League and that same year, the League joined the International Council of Women (ICW). In 1925, Pīpiņa became president of the League, which organized charitable work, such as founding a kindergarten, operating a library, establishing Sunday schools, and hosting educational and needlework courses for women.Шаблон:Sfn The organization also provided free legal advice to women,Шаблон:Sfn which Pīpiņa believed was part of the organizational goal of uniting women, educating them to bring up succeeding generations and helping them develop a national spirit.Шаблон:Sfn

Between 1925 and 1928, Pīpiņa headed the Riga Department for the Destitute and then until 1931 served on the Riga Audit Commission, which monitored the municipal offices.Шаблон:Sfn She began publishing in 1928, with a piece, Kā es runāju ar saviem bērniem par dzimumdzīvi (How to talk to my children about sexuality), which was intended to help women educate their children.Шаблон:Sfn In 1930, she was involved in founding the Council of Latvian Women’s Organizations, an umbrella organization to advance the social and political equality of women. She served on its board and was appointed as the organization's leader. In 1931, Pīpiņa became the first woman to serve in the Saeima and was the only female parliamentarian of the 100-member body during the interwar period.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn She was elected as a deputy representing the Democratic CenterШаблон:Sfn and served as an assistant to the Chair for the Commission on Self Government and as secretary of the Petitions Commission. Pīpiņa strove to seek legal protections for women and families. When a law was proposed to force married women to relinquish their employment, Pīpiņa created a stir in stating her opposition, drawing the scorn of Kārlis Ulmanis. She also worked on laws to provide state support for families and the poor,Шаблон:Sfn and was often ridiculed by her male colleagues and the press for her positions.Шаблон:Sfn

During the same time, Pīpiņa participated in international women's conferences, attending "ICW Congresses in Vienna (1930), Stockholm (1933), Paris (1934), and Dubrovnik (1936)", and women's meetings held in Austria, Hungary and Russia, among others.Шаблон:Sfn In 1934, she co-founded a monthly periodical, Latviete (Latvian woman). The purpose of the journal was to educate women on issues concerning the nation and fight the "patriarchal stereotypes" that prohibited women from being treated as equals in society.Шаблон:Sfn That same year, Pīpiņa terminated her work with the Riga City CouncilШаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn and in 1935, she stepped down from her leadership of the umbrella council.Шаблон:Sfn She published a novel, Lejaskrodzinieka meita (Innkeeper's daughter, 1935)Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn and in 1936, she became a vice president of ICW.Шаблон:Sfn

When the authoritarian regime came into power in 1934, Pīpiņa remained active as a journalist but withdrew from politics.Шаблон:Sfn In 1940, when the Soviet troops occupied Latvia, she became a target and was deported to Siberia in 1941.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

Death and legacy

Pīpiņa died in a labor camp on the Ob River in 1942. During the Soviet period, she was considered as an enemy of the state, having served in the independent parliament of Latvia and her biography was purged from encyclopedias. Her importance in the political history and in the women’s movement re-emerged after Latvia regained its independence.Шаблон:SfnШаблон:Sfn

References

Bibliography

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