Bulgarian Feminists and Their Struggles

During this time, Bulgarian feminists focused on several important issues. These included:

Peace and anti-war movements.

The sexual double standard, where men and women were judged differently for the same behaviors.

The abolition of prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation.

Equal pay for equal work.

Addressing women’s unpaid labor and housework.

Increasing women’s participation in political organizations.

Ensuring women’s access to positions of power.

The citizenship of married women and their rights.

Influence of the International Women’s Movement

Between the two World Wars, Bulgaria’s women’s movement followed the same goals and priorities as the international women’s movement. It mirrored the same features, challenges, and conflicts seen in global women’s organizations Bulgaria Holidays.

Socialists and Women’s Rights

Socialists, including women socialists, saw women’s activism as part of the larger socialist movement rather than as a separate cause. They believed that women’s oppression was caused by the capitalist system and saw socialism as the solution for all types of unfair systems, including those affecting women. They argued that women’s rights would be automatically achieved with the victory of the socialist revolution.

Because of this, socialists rejected bourgeois feminists who were fighting for gender equality within the current social system. In Bulgaria, this was particularly true for the orthodox or strict socialists.

The Division within Bulgarian Socialism

However, there was a reformist branch of socialism in Bulgaria (known as “broad” socialism), which became social democracy after World War I. This group developed a more active and visible women’s organization.

Leftist Women’s Groups like the Bolshevik-linked group and the social-democratic group distanced themselves from “bourgeois feminists”. They viewed feminist efforts as bourgeois ideas and refused to cooperate with bourgeois women’s groups, calling them “separatists”, meaning they were separate from the socialist movement.