Margarethe Faas-Hardegger facts for kids
Margarethe Faas-Hardegger (born February 20, 1882, died September 23, 1963) was an important Swiss woman. She fought for women's rights and was a leader in the movement for women workers in the early 1900s. She helped make sure that women's suffrage (the right for women to vote) was a goal for workers' groups. She also pushed for things like maternity insurance (help for mothers) and the idea that housework should be paid.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Education
Margarethe Hardegger first worked as a telephone operator. Later, she went back to school and earned a special diploma called a Matura. This was with help from August Faas, who later became her husband. Margarethe and August married in 1903 and had two daughters, Olga and Lisa. They divorced in 1912. Later, she lived with Hans Brunner, a carpenter from Germany.
Becoming a Union Leader
In 1903, Margarethe helped start a group for textile workers in Bern. By 1905, she became the first secretary for women workers at the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB). She even stopped studying law to take on this important role.
She helped create many new groups for workers and also set up consumer cooperatives. These were places where people could buy goods together. Margarethe also started two newspapers for women: Die Vorkämpferin and L'Exploitée. She was a strong supporter of workers' rights and peace. However, in 1909, she left the SGB because she had different ideas from the union's leaders.
Later Work and Communities
After leaving the SGB, Margarethe focused on the Socialist League. She had helped start this group in 1908 with Gustav Landauer. She also worked on their magazine, The Socialist.
In 1919, she started a countryside commune (a shared living community) in Herrliberg, near Zürich. In 1920, she started another one called "Villino Graziella" in Minusio. This was close to other artistic places like Locarno and Ascona. Sadly, both of these projects did not last because they ran out of money and people disagreed within the groups.
Margarethe continued to work in a family business with Hans Brunner, whom she married in 1950.
See also
In Spanish: Margarethe Faas-Hardegger para niños
