In February 1908 in Lwow the Committee for Equal Rights of Women (Komitet Rownouprawnenia kobiet) wanted a candidate for the up-coming elections. Activist Stefania Wechslerova suggested the well-known poet Maria Konopnicka, but she was too ill to accept the nomination. Another person suggested Maria Wisniewska from Krakow, but in the end, the candidate was Maria Dulebianka from Lwow. The campaign was two weeks long; she got 511 votes. Conservative women voters on the right did not vote for her because they were afraid of being laughed at; the liberals on the left did not vote for her because they wanted someone to set human rights first.

      Austrian law from Nov. 15, 1867 restricted the membership of political organizations to adult men by prohibiting women and non-adults from joining them. In November 1905 demonstrations were held in Prague for an equal right to a direct, secret ballot. Although women participated in the demonstrations, none of the speakers claimed the ballot for them.

      On Dec. 1, 1905, Václav Choc proposed the vote for women in the AT Parliament. His speech was translated by Marie Tůmová, a daughter of journalist Karel Tůma, into Czech. Others leading Czech nationalists who supported the ballot for women were Thomas Masaryk, Němec, Baxa.

      On October 2, 1905 in National house in Vinohrady (Prague) 3000 people met and an additional 3000 did not enter overcrowded house. Dr. čtenberk, Dr. Koerner, Dr. Viškovský, Gregorová, Teysslerová, Františka Plamínková, Olga Stránská- Absolonová pleaded for women vote as a tax-payers. Similar actions were held all autumn.

      On Dec. 10, 1905 three thousand women, including Teresa Nováková, Františka Plamínková, and Fráňa Zemínová, attended a public meeting in National house in Vinohrady (Prague).

      A committee, not an organization, to work for the ballot for women was formed under the leadership of Františka Plaminková. The committee, including Tereza Nováková, Tůmová, Máchová, met publicly each week. In 1906 a German member from the Vienna parliament, Dr. Offner, agreed that women could vote, but it was a matter of a long time for him. Prior to that time, one had to have served in the military or in a hospital to be permitted to vote.

      In 1907 the elections laws were changed: not only was the suffrage not extended to additional women, but noblewomen who had been permitted to vote lost the right to the ballot.

      On the September 15, 1907 Member of Parliament (MP) of the Czech Diet K. Viškovský pleaded for the ballot for women. In the spring, he debated for women's rights against MP Anýž.

      In the autumn of 1907, the country was preparing for new elections to the Czech Diet where the current term was to expire in February 1908. Plaminková held talks with officials of various political parties about fielding women candidates: perhaps by mistake, the law did not explicitly exclude women from becoming an member of Parliament. Furthermore, some women teachers, doctors, and taxpayers still had the right to vote. Still, by the end of 1907, she had no response. Fearing that women would turn to the socialists and hoping to enlist the support of women, a female Catholic delegate announced her candidacy at Smichov (Prague) on January 6-7, 1908, but to no avail. The Czechoslovak Social Democratic Workers Party was the first political party to support a female candidate, Karla Machová for Prague Districts IV, VI, VII. Máchová was a teacher who had spent time in US and editor of Řenské listy (Women's Journal).

      Výbor pro volební Provo zen independent fielded a teacher from Řizkov (Prague), Marie Tůmová, daughter of journalist Karel Tůma, from Vysoke Mýto - Skuteč - Hlinsko. Of the 2,000 to 3,000 valid votes which were cast, Machová got 493 running as an independent and Tůmová got 199.

      For Německý Brod - Humpolec - Polná, Božena Zelinková, a teacher from the town of Časlav, ran as a last minute candidate for a group of different parties. She received 3-5 votes.

      During a electoral campaign, it was said that it is a shame the such a women as Karolína Světlá or Eliška Krásnohorská were not elected into Czech diet. Finland, where women received the right to the ballot in 1907, was given as a example.

      At this time, the Czech Diet did not work for the boycott of German MPs. But the elections were held if the MP died or if a seat was given up for another reason.

      In 1912, the government finally acknowledged reality and changed the law of 1867 so women were allowed to be political parties members.

      But in the election scheduled for March 1912, Deputy Dr. Václav Skara for Mladá Boleslav - Nymburk died. The elections were held instead on June 4, 1912. One of the candidates was Božena Viková- Kuněticka (1862-1934), wife of a manufacturer in Česky Brod, an active member of women's section of Narodní strana svobodomyslná, but not part of the organized women's movement She was supported by other parties, too. She praised motherhood above all, but at the same time she was on the side of single mothers and supported the same treatment of children born in wedlock and out wedlock

      Until July 26, 1913, the Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party regularly supported Karla Machová as a candidate whenever someone died or gave up his seat, but the Realists no longer supported Marie Tůmova. Although it was a Prague headquarters party decision, the local party's candidate for the mayor of the town of Mladá Boleslav mayor was Bohumil Matoušek. On May 29, 1912, Kunětická campaigned in public for the first time. Matoušek protested the experiment, but Kunětická replied that her candidacy was for the sake of national honor and duty. Her party offered little support; her main support came from women's organizations and other parties.

      Czech women were supported also by Leopoldina Kulkova and Sofie Rege from Vienna.

      In the June 4, 1912 run-off election, 2072 people from a pool of 3243 possible voters voted: Kunětická got 850 votes; Matoušek, 769; Máchová, 415; others, 22; nobody, 16. Before the final election, Matoušek under pressure from the Prague central committee asked his supporters do not vote. In the June 13, 1912 final election, of the 1248 votes which were cast, 1210 were valid; Kunětická received 1161 votes; Matoušek, 33; others, 16. Although it was counted as valid result, Prague and regional authorities protested against women in parliament.

      On April 18, 1912, Prince Thun had asked Vienna what they should do if she wins. In 1861 nobody had dreamed about passing the right to vote for women. In Prague and Liberec women did not have suffrage in municipal elections; only men could vote in local elections. On May 2, 1912 Interior Minister Heinold agreed with Thun, but his answer was not explicit enough. On June 5, 1912, Thun asked him again saying that a man must see to public opinion. He received no response, so on June 13, he sent her a letter with his negative views and left the decision left for Czech Diet. Meanwhile, Kunětická received congratulation from Slovenia and Norimberk, and from Madelaine Pelletier, editor of the French women's suffrage journal La Solidarité des femmes.

      After her election, Kunětická became more active both at home and abroad. She visited Germany again and pleaded there for Czech nationalism and women's rights.

      Internal politics were much more complicated. The Czechoslovak Social Democratic Party was dissatisfied because it was a town, not a village, which elected a woman. Kunětická was elected against the will of her party with the help of women and parties on the left. Before War I she was never seated and in 1918 Kunětická, was appointed as a member of Revoluční národni shromažděni for the National Democratic Party, and in 1920, elected as a senator. In 1919 Kunětická along with Eliška Krásnohorská were the first women inducted into the Czech Academy of Science.

      Source:

J. Kořalka Zvolení ženy 307-320

Boguslava Czajecka: Z domu w szeroki swiat, Krakow, 1990 p 223-225

Szwarc: Kobieta i swiat politiki, Warsaw, 1994

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last updated July 2000