Laws regarding property were some of the most harmful to women. Married women held
few rights to the money or property they shared with their
husbands. As a
result, a husband could legally sell a woman's home out from
under her, and abandon her and their children. As the reading
"Western Wife" demonstrates, a cruel husband could torment his
wife with such a threat.
If a woman left her
husband, no matter what her reasons for doing so, she
automatically forfeited all claim to any and all marital
property. Although physical abuse was considered sufficient
reason for divorce and entitled ex-wives to more
compensation, it was difficult to prove. As a result, women endured
unfulfilling and abusive marriages because provincial laws
governing shared family property and spousal support offered
them little upon separation from their husbands.
Divorce was uncommon in the early 20th century, not
only because property laws discriminated against women, but
also because marriage was considered sacred and divorce was
viewed as socially unacceptable.
Henrietta Muir Edwards, Emily Murphy, Louise McKinney,
Irene Parlby, and Nellie McClung worked hard to change
discriminatory laws and to convince MLA's to support
socially-just legislation. The Dower Act, drafted by
Henrietta Muir Edwards and Louise McKinney, was introduced
to the Alberta Legislature by Louise McKinney, and finally
passed in 1917. This established a wife's right to one-third
of her husband's estate, but it was many years before
authorities enforced its provisions.
Irene Parlby and Nellie McClung worked closely together
on issues that affected women, such as marital and property
disputes, and loss of nationality—though, as members of
opposing parties, they were also known to disagree. In
total, the United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) government passed 18 acts relating to the
welfare of women and children, including:
- A new Dower Act, protecting the interests of the wife
in case her husband attempted to sell her home
- A Minimum Wage Act for Women
- A bill to increase Mothers'
Allowance—which assured a reasonable income to a single mother
- An act declaring illegitimate children, whose
parents later married, to be legitimate
Parlby was also responsible for an amendment regarding
the support of children of unmarried parents, which, in
cases when paternity was not clearly
established, gave the Trial Judge power to make one, or all,
of the men who might have fathered the child to pay for its
support.
Some issues regarding women's finances and property that
Nellie McClung took an interest in include:
- Providing occupational training for female prisoners, so
they would have the skills to earn a living upon their
release from prison
- Wages for male prisoners—to be directed to the support of
their families
- Resisted UFA government attempts to reduce allowances
paid to needy widows and single mothers
- Objected to a UFA plan to deprive widows who
remarried of the pension benefits earned by their
previous husbands
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