When Czechoslovakia became independent in 1918, Czechs embraced
democracy, which they saw as particularly suited to their national
interests. Politicians enthusiastically supported a constitution
that proclaimed all citizens, women as well as men, legally equal.
But they soon found themselves split over how to implement this
pledge. Some believed democracy required extensive egalitarian
legislation. Others contended that any commitment to equality had
to bow before other social interests, such as preserving the
traditional family.
On the eve of World War II, Czech leaders jettisoned the young
republic for an "authoritarian democracy" that firmly placed their
nation, and not the individual citizen, at the center of politics.
In 1948, they turned to a Communist-led "people's democracy," which
also devalued individual rights.
By examining specific policy issues, including marriage and
family law, civil service regulations, citizenship law, and
abortion statutes, "Elusive Equality" demonstrates the relationship
between Czechs' ideas about gender roles and their attitudes toward
democracy. Gradually, many Czechs became convinced that protecting
a traditionally gendered family ideal was more important to their
national survival than adhering to constitutionally prescribed
standards of equal citizenship. Through extensive original
research, Melissa Feinberg assembles a compelling account of how
early Czech progress in women's rights, tied to democratic reforms,
eventually lost momentum in the face of political transformations
and the separation of state and domestic issues. Moreover, Feinberg
presents a prism through which our understanding of
twentieth-century democracy is deepened, and a cautionary tale for
all those who want to make democratic governments work.
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