Work

“Solving” Global Problems: Motherhood and Women’s Education in the Work of the Women’s International Democratic Federation in Developing Countries

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This article contributes to the discussion on global women’s rights during the Cold War period by examining how improving the situation of mothers, and education and literacy for women, was presented in the documents and publications of the transnational Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF). It shows that while the WIDF’s ideas concerning motherhood and education positively influenced the global discussion on women’s status and welfare in early Cold War period, technological innovations, together with the development of feminist thinking around reproduction and new pedagogical theories and methods that emerged in the late 1960s–1970s, diminished their global importance. The article is based on the analysis of the WIDF periodical publication, the journal Women of the Whole World , and on archival sources.

Source: East European Politics and Societies and Cultures

DOI: 10.1177/08883254251403097

Author: Yulia Gradskova

Institution: Södertörn University

Language: English

Topic: Historical Gender and Feminism Studies

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Gender equality

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650