The women interviewed all thought that their nusband s Joo was more important, that women were peter working with young children, that the division or housenold tasks was fair — men do washing ur maintenance, women do the cooking, washing, ironing and queueing for food. Queueing for food is ALLISON & BUSBY an occupation in itself and especially for women who WU K Queueing is a visible exposure of the complete bureaucratic mismanagethe For all the reasons the women touch on, , the family acts as the buffer to all this.
It's a vicious circle, because the contradictions of the family and the values it represents find their way back into the workforce where women have achieved 'equality' - and so Lyuba explains: 'It's not becaus I'm a woman but because I'm a mother that I'm discriminated against' As far as the outside world i concerned, 'Fathers don't have children'!
The women interviewed are conscious of all these contradictions that bear down heavily on their lives. Their responses to it are varied. Natasha puts it bluntly: No laws strong enough to penetrate the family'. Meanwhile the Soviet bureaucracy refuses to acknowledge the position of women in society: 'Officially, there are women's problems here'.
But the overwhelming Impression t mn lelt with Is one of admiration for these women Lter silent in suffering, caught in a cruel time warp, carry mistakes made But it's a sign of strength that women can speak so powerfully. That is a power Soviet , womer do have today, but which must be supported by the collective strength of an autonomous SISTERHOOD IS POWERFUL
ACTION SOCiAList
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Thirteen Interviews by With an introduction by Gail Warshotsky Lapidus