Women's Personalities at the General Conference of the Young Women's Christian Association

Fortune smiled on me: two ladies from Burma (Indochina), members of the world conference of the Young Women's Christian Association, received me as their guest. One of them, named Ba Maung Chein, is a graduate of the Girls' College and the wife of the chief engineer, himself a graduate of the University of London. The second, named Ma San Tin, is a graduate of the Girls' College in Burma and president of the Young Women's Christian Association in Rangoon and its province. Here is the most important of the conversation that passed between us; perhaps there is profit or pleasure in it for the readers of "The Woman's Voice."

Q — When did you gain your independence?
A: We are infants in our constitutional life; we are no more than two years old.

Q — And are you satisfied with the national government?
A: Most of our rulers are young men of the new generation, and in spite of the mistakes that occur and the apparent lack of order and the confusion, we prefer independence. A child who does not fall and get up, falling and getting up again and again, never learns to walk. And we are bound to arrive at a state of stability and order.

Q — What is the population of Burma?
A: Its population is 17 million, of whom two million are Christians. The members of Parliament number 16, among them three ladies. I have put myself forward as a candidate for the coming election, because my children have grown up and no longer have urgent need of me — they are in boarding schools — and I am confident that I can be a member of my nation's council and serve my country, in view of the knowledge and experience I possess.

Q — And do you hope to win in the electoral battle when you belong to the minorities?
A: In our country positions are given to whoever is most fit and most prepared; sectarianism has no influence among us.

Q — How many years ago did woman obtain her rights in Burma?
A: As soon as our country's independence was proclaimed, woman was given her political and social rights. She exercises the right to vote like the man, and she inherits half of what her husband owns.

Q — And why do you not change the style of your dress?
A: Because we believe that if the Burmese woman took up European dress, our shops would fill up with Western goods, and this we will not accept.

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I had the good fortune, too, to accompany the members of the world conference to Baalbek, and beside me at table sat a lady bearing the marks of nobility and simplicity. One of my friends whispered to me that the lady beside you is Madame Cedergren, sister of Bernadotte and cousin of the King of Sweden. I said to her in the course of conversation that the

Lebanese who visited your country admired the character and refinement of the Swedes. She asked with interest: And what effect did their visit to my country leave upon them? I said: They admired the honesty and sincerity of the people, their love for their country and their king, their astonishing democracy, the cleanliness of their streets, the perfection of the public gardens, and their keeping of order. She said: It pleases me to hear this.

She had been astonished at the many kinds of food served with such lavishness to the guests of our Lebanese government. She asked for a bottle of beer, and the waiter told her that whoever orders must pay the price; she thought a little and said: This bottle is more than I ought to ask for — why the extravagance? Three Swedish women heard her and joined in paying for the bottle; she collected it from them and paid it to the waiter. They did it without the least ceremony, and without any feeling that one of them had done the others a favor.

Among the personalities I came to know was Maharaja, wife of the Governor of Bombay, who governs 14 million. She spoke of the Christian women's association and the good effect of its work in her country, and said that the association is a national one, with no foreign hand directing it.

Among the personalities too was Lady de Soysa, wife of the Governor of Ceylon; she is president of the Village Revival Association and works for the advancement of her country's peasants and the raising of their standard, and she asked to be introduced to the ladies who work in this field in Lebanon.

There was also Mrs. Barrow, kinswoman of the Sultan of the Gold Coast and president of the bar association; and then Mrs. Huntington, the American, sister of the former president of the American University of Beirut, Bayard Dodge.

This is a fleeting glimpse of this world conference of the Young Women's Christian Association, which was held in Lebanon this year.