The Icelandic Canadian - 01.08.2002, Page 39

Vol. 57 #1
THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
37
development and growth of their commu-
nities cannot be denied.
An integral part of maintaining culture
and heritage was through a series of organi-
zations initiated or run by women. With
the creation of these organizations, the
women provided a commitment towards
the survial of their culture that far extend-
ed family and home. Although each com-
munity had an organization, six major
organizations (which are representative of
the organizations of the smaller communi-
ties) were created in and around the area of
New Iceland; The Women’s Society of
New Iceland, The Icelandic Women’s
Society, the Senior Ladies’ Aid Society, the
Aurora Reading Association, the Ladies
Aid of Winnipeg, and the Suffragette
Society. These organizations were essential
in areas of education, religion, health care,
taking care of the poor, and looking after
new immigrants. Many of these organiza-
tions, such as the Senior Ladies’ Aid
Society, was created within the context of
the church, but was not restricted by reli-
gious boundaries. Besides community
organizations that supported the Icelandic
heritage, the Icelandic women were also
concerned with the collective population of
women in Manitoba and their rights as cit-
izens. Icelandic women were among the
pioneers in the suffrage movement in
Manitoba. There had been a suffragette
society in Iceland as early as 1894, and its
impact made its way to Canada. The
movement was born out of an article pub-
lished by Briet BjarnheSinsdottir in 1885,
with a subsequent suffrage paper being
founded in 1895. As Wilhelm Kristjanson
explains, “Icelandic suffrage played an
active and, for a period, a prominent part in
the campaign for woman’s suffrage in
Larus Gudmundsson & Ingibjorg Gudmundsdottir and daughter, Laura.