International Alliance of Women Records, 1906-2009 (bulk 1913-1973)
General International Standard for Archival Description
Sophia Smith Collection Smith CollegeNorthampton, MA
Finding aid encoded in NoteTab Pro. Encoded by Carrie Baldwin. 2008-05-02
Encoded Archival Description
Encoded Archival Description (EAD) Version 2002
collection
International Alliance of Women Records
Creation of International Alliance of Women Records
Time of Creation of International Alliance of Women Records
International Alliance of Women
Biographical History for: International Alliance of Women Records
Historical Note At a 1902 meeting in Washington, D.C., delegates from ten countries, believing that a new international organization devoted to women's suffrage was needed, planned to meet in Berlin to form a permanent organization. Delegates from eight nations founded the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) in 1904 as an unconditionally pro-suffrage and explicitly feminist alternative to the International Council of Women, which had failed to take a clear pro-suffrage position. The Alliance established suffrage as its primary goal from the beginning and maintained votes for women as its sole concern until just before World War I. Beginning in 1913 the group began to address wider issues including prostitution, peace, equal pay, women's right to employment, the nationality of married women, and slavery. In 1915, individual members of IWSA from warring countries had met in the Hague and were instrumental in setting up what has become another highly regarded sister organization, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. By the 1920s the Alliance was divided into groups of enfranchised and disenfranchised women and, although it continued to press for woman suffrage in countries without it, the organization also adopted peace and equality as major goals. Changing its name to the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship in the late 1920s, the group, headed by Margery Corbett Ashby, maintained its commitment to peace throughout the inter-war period. Although it became increasingly similar to the International Council of Women after the 1910s it stubbornly maintained its separate structure and identity. Emerging intact out of the chaos of World War II the organization adopted a program of peace, democracy, women's rights, and support for the United Nations. In 1946 the name International Alliance of Women was adopted with the sub-title Equal Rights - Equal Responsibilities. In its present-day work the IAW "affirms that full and equal enjoyment of human rights is due to all women and girls. The IAW maintains that a prerequisite to securing these rights is the universal ratification and implementation without reservation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The importance and value of women's contributions as equal partners has been acknowledged in numerous United Nations World Conferences held during the past decades." [Source: IAW Web site http://www.womenalliance.org/history.html]
The International Alliance of Women records were given to the Sophia Smith Collection by Louisa Fast, Smith College Class of 1898.
Scope and Contents of the Collection Approximately half of the collection consists of programs and other material related to biennial conferences, in particular the 12th Congress held in Istanbul, 1935. Material from this Congress includes committee reports and resolutions, correspondence, programs, publicity, speeches, and memorabilia. Documentation for other congresses is more sparse, consisting mainly of programs. There are also official conference reports (1906-61) and general documents such as agendas, publicity, position papers, newsletters, and printed material. Major topics addressed include women's rights, women's suffrage, the international women's movement, peace, and the United Nations.
The International Alliance of Women Records are open to research according to the regulations of the Sophia Smith Collection with the following exception: Electronic documents (on CD) and printouts, 1999-2007, are closed per donor instructions.
The International Alliance of Women retains copyright ownership of their records. Copyright to unpublished materials created by others may be owned by the creator, or their heirs or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.
The Sophia Smith Collection has a full run of IAW newsletters in the Periodicals Collection under the titles: International Women's Suffrage News (1906-13); Jus Suffragi (1913-24); and International Women's News (1906-2009). Issues from 1906-14 are also available on microfilm. A larger collection of International Alliance of Women Records is held by The Women's Library at London Metropolitan University.
Processed by Carrie Baldwin, Fraenkel intern, 2008.
Feminists--History--20th century--Sources
lcsh
Peace movements--History--20th century--Sources
Women--Turkey--History--20th century--Sources
Women and peace--History--20th century--Sources
Women--International cooperation--History--Sources
Women's rights--History--Sources
Women--Suffrage--United States-History--Sources
Catt, Carrie Chapman, 1859-1947
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International Alliance of Women--History--Sources
International Woman Suffrage Alliance--History
Contents
General
Correspondence, reports, and constitution 1920-67, 1996
Pamphlets 1967, 1976
International Woman Suffrage News and brochure 2004
Photo book of membersn.d.
Congresses
International Woman Suffrage Alliance program, Copenhagen 1906
4th Conference, Amsterdam: report 1908
5th Conference, London: report 1909
6th Congress, Stockholm: report 1911
7th Congress, Budapest: report, press, program, and correspondence 1913
8th Congress, Geneva: report and program 1920
9th Congress, Rome: report 1923
10th Congress, Paris: report 1926
10th Congress, Paris: Committee on Family Endowment or Allowances Report 1926
Report and Resolutions of the First Peace Study Conference, Amsterdam 1927
11th Congress, Berlin: report 1929
12th Congress, Istanbul 1935
Report and proofs of reports
League of Women Voters material and committee reports
Committee reports, resolutions, news clippings, and correspondence
Correspondence - (Louisa Fast, Press Representative)
Publicity and photographs (Carrie Chapman Catt, Margaret Corbett Ashby, Louisa Fast, and Latife Bekir)n.d.
Speeches
13th Congress, Copenhagen: report 1939
14th Congress, Interlaken: report 1946
15th Congress, Amsterdam: report and program 1949
16th Congress, Naples: publicity and report 1952
S. E. Asia Regional Group's Inaugural Regional Conference on "The Education of Women in a Changing East," Colombo: report 1954
17th Congress (Golden Jubilee Congress), Colombo, Ceylon 1955
Pamphlet, program, and report
"Journey Towards Freedom: Written for the Golden Jubilee of the International Alliance of Women"
18th Congress, Athens: publicity, program, and report 1958
Report of International Committee Conference, Teheran 1960
19th Congress, Dublin: report and publicity 1961
Report of the Hannah Rydh Memorial Seminar, Sierra Leone 1966
21st Congress, England: publicity 1967
22nd Congress, Konigstein, West Germany: publicity 1970
23rd Congress, New Delhi: publicity and itinerary 1973
Centenary Celebration: program 2004
Electronic documents and printouts 1999-2007
[CLOSED]
series
OVERSIZE MATERIALS
7th Congress (Budapest): publicity 1913
Newspapers
La Republique16 April 1935
La Republique18 April 1935
La Turquie28 April 1935