Stockholms Allmänna Kvinnoklubb


Stockholms Allmänna Kvinnoklubb was founded in Stockholm 11 June 1892, and became a part of the Swedish Social Democratic Party the same year. It is referred to as the foundation of the women's organisation within the social democratic worker's movement in Sweden. It was the first social democratic women's club to be officially a part of the party, and the first of many local clubs of the same kind.
The Club organized the social democratic women within the Swedish working class movement by establishing local women's clubs and enlisting working women in the trade unions.

History

Background

In 1888, the first social democratic women's club, Kvinnliga arbetarklubben, was founded by Elma Danielsson in Malmö, followed by other local clubs, but non of them were officially a part of the party, and never became more than temporary. Though women were made members of the Swedish Social Democratic Party its foundation in 1889, women's issues were not regarded a specific issue separated from the class issue, and no women's association were given much encouragement.

Foundation

On 11 June 1892, a meeting was held in Stockholm by a group of female social democrats to address this. The opening speech was held by Emilie Rathou, who had been the first female 1 May-speaker the previous year. Rathou was the co-founder of Stockholms allmänna kvinnoklubb with a group of women consisting of Alina Jägerstedt, Lotten Jäderlund, Elsa Löfgren, Elin Engström, Gertrud Månsson and Anna Söderberg among others. They were soon joined by known profiles such as Kata Dalström, Anna Sterky, Anna Lindhagen and Amanda Horney.

Kommittén för den kvinnliga agitationen

In 1897, they founded the Kommittén för den kvinnliga agitationen, which in 1902 founded the Women's Trade Union, which in turn started to publish Morgonbris in 1904.

Women Suffrage

Between 1902 and 1921, it was also involved in the National Association for Women's Suffrage, were its foremost representatives were Anna Lindhagen and Ruth Gustafson. Internationally, the Socialist movement and labour movement did not generally support cooperation with women's movement because these were mainly composed by middle class women, and because women's rights were suppose to be a obvious and integrate part of the socialist and labour movement, but the Swedish sociala democratic women decided to cooperate with the National Association for Women's Suffrage in the form of the Stockholms Allmänna Kvinnoklubb and its local branches, thus contributing with its national network to its efforts.
It supported the pacifist association during World War I.

Kvinnokongressen

In 1907, the first social democratic women's congress was assembled, which started to arrange congresses for the women's clubs every third year.
In 1920, all local social democratic women's clubs in Sweden including this one, was united to the Social Democratic Women in Sweden.

Additional sources