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Glenbow Archives NA-402-1
ThehistoryofAlberta’s
UnitedFarmWomen
This board of directors for
the United Farm Women of Alberta
(UFWA) was leading an organization that
was only about three years old when this
photo was taken in 1919.
The UFWA was first established in 1915
as an auxiliary to the United Farmers of
Alberta (UFA). But only a year later, it
became a separate organization with its
own constitution and direction.
The UFWA was initially led by Irene
Parlby, who in 1921 became the first
woman elected to the Alberta legislature.
Parlby, who homesteaded with her hus-
band Walter in Lacombe County, was also
a member of the “Famous Five,” a group of
influential women instrumental in having
the Supreme Court of Canada recognize
women as “persons” under the British
North America Act in 1929.
Through its various efforts, the UFWA
had a clear focus on “social welfare” and
“betterment of rural life,” primarily for
women and children, but also for Alber-
tans in general. Various committees were
formed to work on the legal status of wom-
en and children, co-operative marketing,
farm safety and environmental concerns.
In a paper published by Athabasca Uni-
versity’s Nanci Langford, she noted, “issues
such as property rights for farm women,
reproductive rights, farm economics and
marketing, stress in farm families, child
care in rural areas, access to affordable
medical care, rural depopulation, and loss
of schools and services kept the organiza-
tion lobbying and in advocacy activities for
decades, and maintained its reputation as a
respected voice for rural communities.”
One very controversial campaign
by today’s standards was the UFWA’s
endorsement of human sterilization and
segregation during the First World War.
The UFWA believed casualties during
the war resulted in a loss of desirable
genes, leading the organization to argue
that these measures would prevent social
problems created by the “unfit,” such as
criminality and poverty.
The UFWA successfully lobbied the
UFA government to enact the Sexual
Sterilization Act in 1928, and it remained
on the books until 1972.
The organization was renamed the
Farm Women’s Union of Alberta (FWUA)
in 1949. After the creation of Unifarm in
1970, the organization became the Women
of Unifarm. That organization was instru-
mental in the creation of the Matrimonial
Property Act (1979), which gave women
equality in the division of property. Due
to declining membership, the Women of
Unifarm disbanded in 2000.
AGAINST
THE GRAIN
Winter
2017
Grains
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