Ona Mašiotienė facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ona Mašiotienė
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Ona Brazauskaitė
9 September 1883 Šlavėnai, Anykščiai Parish, Russian Empire
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| Died | 29 December 1949 (aged 66) Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic
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| Resting place | Petrašiūnai Cemetery |
| Nationality | Lithuanian |
| Other names | Ona Brazauskaitė-Mašiotienė |
| Alma mater | Moscow Higher Courses for Women |
| Occupation | teacher, women's rights activist, writer |
| Years active | 1904–1940 |
Ona Mašiotienė (born Ona Brazauskaitė, 9 September 1883 – 29 December 1949) was an important Lithuanian teacher, school principal, and writer. She was also a strong supporter of women's rights. Ona helped start the Lithuanian Women's Association, which was the first group in Lithuania to fight for women's equality. She often gave talks about why men and women should have equal rights.
Ona worked hard for both women's rights and Lithuania's freedom. She joined many different groups and attended important meetings about politics. As a teacher, she opened the first girls' high school in Vilnius where lessons were taught in Lithuanian. She also led a secondary school in Kaunas for more than ten years. In 1921, she was chosen to be part of the Utena regional council. She was also a founder and the first president of the Lithuanian Women's Council, which brought many women's groups together. The Lithuanian government honored her with national awards for her work. However, she lost her teaching job when the Soviets took control of Lithuania again.
Ona Mašiotienė's Early Life
Ona Brazauskaitė was born on 9 September 1883 in a village called Šlavėnai. This village was in the Russian Empire at the time. Her parents were Jadwiga and Gustavas Brazauskas. Her father had been jailed for joining the 1863 uprising against Russian rule. He met Ona's mother through her grandfather, who was also involved.
Ona's family had eight children and came from a noble background. They spoke Polish at home, but they had different ideas about whether they were Lithuanian or Polish. Her father believed Lithuania and Poland should be united. He also secretly shared books in the Lithuanian language, even though it was against the law at that time.
Around 1900, Ona finished Kaunas Girls' High School with excellent grades. She wanted to become a teacher and continue her studies. Her parents could afford her education, but they didn't think women should go to college. Luckily, her aunt helped pay for Ona to study in Moscow. There, she took science classes at the Moscow Higher Courses for Women.
While studying, Ona helped create the Lithuanian Student Society of Moscow. She also became very interested in women's rights movements happening in Europe. She became a strong supporter of women's equality. In September 1905, she helped start the Lithuanian Women's Association (Lietuvos moterų susivienijimas), which was the first women's organization in Lithuania. She was chosen to represent her group at a big women's equality meeting in October. After that, Ona returned to Lithuania to join the Great Seimas of Vilnius meeting in December.
After this big meeting, women leaders gathered to plan how to fight against the Russian government. Ona urged the women to demand their human rights and equality. She also pushed for their children to be taught in the Lithuanian language. Soon after, around 1906 or 1907, she married Jonas Mašiotas. He was a Lithuanian student she had met in Moscow. Ona helped get ready for the First Lithuanian Women's Congress in Kaunas in September 1907. Then she moved to Vilnius and helped organize the Lithuanian Women's Union (Lietuvos moterų sąjungą). In 1909, she had her only child, a daughter also named Ona.
Ona Mašiotienė's Career and Activism
From 1911 to 1914, Ona Mašiotienė taught at a high school in Vilnius. But when World War I started, her family moved to Moscow for safety. There, she created and led the Lithuanian Women's Freedom Union. In 1917, she spoke for this group at the Lithuanian Assembly in Saint Petersburg, where she talked about women's rights. However, this Freedom Union did not last long.
After Lithuania declared its independence in 1918, Ona and her family returned to Vilnius. She started and directed the first girls' high school in Vilnius that taught in Lithuanian. She also offered evening classes in Russian to help students finish their education. In 1919, Polish officials closed the school during the Polish–Lithuanian War. That same year, Ona was elected to the board of the Lithuanian Teachers' Union. She also joined the Temporary Committee of Lithuanians in Vilnius, which worked to promote Lithuanian culture. Ona worked hard for Lithuania's independence by encouraging people to support the cause. She asked women to help with war efforts and national defense.
In 1921, Ona Mašiotienė was elected to the Utena regional council. This was the county where her family's estate was located. The next year, new land laws meant her family's land was cut in half. She kept about 80 hectares (about 200 acres) for a summer home. For the rest of the year, Ona and her family lived in Kaunas, where she taught science in secondary schools. She was re-elected to the regional council in 1924 and served for four more years.
In 1928, Ona Mašiotienė became the principal of the Kaunas 2nd Secondary School. That same year, she helped start the Lithuanian Women's Council (Lietuvos moterų taryba). This was a very important group because it brought together 17 different women's organizations. It was like an "umbrella organization" because it covered many smaller groups. Soon after it was founded, the Lithuanian Women's Council joined the International Council of Women (ICW). In 1929, Ona went to the ICW Congress in London. She was elected to the board of the Lithuanian Women's Council and was its president until 1934.
Ona also got involved in a children's health program called Pieno lašas (which means "milk drop"). In 1930, she started hosting radio shows. Her first show, called The Conversations of Ann and Marian (Onos ir Marijonos pasikalbėjimai), gave tips for homes and health. That same year, the state recognized her public work. She received the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas in the Third Degree and the Order of Vytautas the Great in the First Degree. She also worked on a radio news program called Home and Woman (Namai ir moteris), which started in 1933. Ona wrote articles for many newspapers and magazines like Lietuvos aidas and Lietuvos žinios. In 1937, she gave a speech at a special meeting. Her speech, "The Political and National Work of Women from 1907 to 1937," was published as a book the next year.
World War II changed Ona Mašiotienė's life a lot. Her daughter moved to Australia in 1944. Ona was no longer allowed to teach. Even though she could live on her estate, she and her husband had to work for a Soviet farm group called a kolkhoz. Her husband passed away in 1948. Ona Mašiotienė died on 29 December 1949, at age 66, in a hospital in Kaunas. She was buried in the Petrašiūnai Cemetery.
