Questões

The 1920s: 'Young women took the struggle for freedom into their personal lives

(1º§) Two years after the Representation of the People Act 1918, the Times published grave warnings against moves to extend voting rights to women under 30. Mature females might now engage with politics, but the "scantily clad, jazzing flapper to whom a dance, a new hat or a man with a car is of more importance than the fate of nations" must never be entrusted with a vote.

(2º§) The fast, frivolous flapper of the 20s was partially a cultural stereotype, but she was also a focus of serious debate. With her short skirts and cigarettes, her cocktails, sexiness and sass, she was not only offensive to the men at the Times, but also a concern to older feminists, who saw in her pleasure-seeking, taboo-breaking ways a younger generation's disregard of all for which the suffragettes had fought.

(3º§) But if the politics of feminism seemed less important to the "flapper generation", this was partly because young women were taking the struggle for freedom into their personal lives. Ideas of duty, sacrifice and the greater good had been debunked by the recent war; for this generation, morality resided in being true to one's self, not to a cause. Towards the end of the decade, some feminists would argue that women's great achievement in the 20s was learning to value their individuality.

(4º§) Personal freedoms remained dependent on public reform and active UK feminists such as the Six Point Group continued to campaign. Women were given electoral equality with men in 1928; legislation brought equality in inheritance rights and unemployment benefits; and women profited from the Sex Discrimination (Removal) Act, which, in 1919, had given them access to professions such as law.

(5º§) Changes in work patterns were dramatic, with a third of unmarried women moving into paid employment across an expanding range of jobs in medicine, education and industry. Mass employment also made women a consumer power. Fashion was one of several industries that expanded rapidly to meet their demands. While the Times considered clothes a frivolity, for women they were a daily marker of liberation: rising hemlines, sportswear and even trousers made their generation physically freer than any in modern history.

(6º§) Sexual mores were also changing. While double standards persisted, a significant number of women were beginning to claim the same licence as men. There were small steps of encouragement, too, with divorce made easier by the Matrimonial Causes Act 1923 and contraception made more readily available by the Marie Stopes mail-order service. The flapper generation may have been comparatively apolitical and self-absorbed, but, as they puzzled out what freedom meant and tested their personal limits, they were broaching issues that would be hotly debated during the 60s and 70s.

Judith Mackrell is the Guardian's dance critic and the author of books including Flappers: Six Women of a Dangerous Generation

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The Amazon Forest

The Amazon is often called the lungs of the earth and produces 20% of the world’s oxygen. For this reason, many people are trying to stop deforestation in the rainforest. Brazil, for example, is working hard to help the rainforest survive.

A few years ago, the Brazilian government put forward a plan called ARPA (Amazon Region Protected Areas). It had the support of many international agencies, including the World Bank, and the German Development Bank, KfW. The main aim was to build new areas of protected rainforest, maintain areas of the rainforest that hadn’t yet been destroyed, and stop deforestation. Deforestation contributes greatly to global warming because carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere when trees get cut down and burned.

One of the first areas to be recognized as part of ARPA was the Tumucumaque Mountains National Park. It is 38,800 km² and is the same size as Switzerland, a small country in Central Europe. It’s the world’s largest protected tropical national park, and the second largest national park. It is home to certain species of jaguar, eagle, and lizard, which can only survive in the rainforest. Many of these species are under threat from climate change and deforestation.

In order to work in the park, conservationists need a reliable map. However, no map existed, and they didn’t have enough knowledge to make one on their own. They came up with the idea of involving local tribes to help them, combining modern and ancient methods to produce a map. The tribes learned to use global positioning system handsets (GPS), in conjunction with their local knowledge of the area, which included fishing and hunting grounds, and places of historical or mythical importance. Aerial photos were a 20useful aid in the process as well. This method of map-making is now the key to the future of rainforests, in Brazil and the rest of the world too.

British troops move black rhinos to Malawi

British troops have helped to move a group of critically endangered black rhinos from South Africa to Malawi to protect them against poaching. Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion Royal Gurkha Rifles moved 17 of the animals, which are hunted for their horns, in the hope they can be better protected. They were transported by air and road from KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa to Liwonde National Park in Malawi.

The troops then spent three months training rangers to keep them safe. Major Jez England, the officer commanding the British Army counter-poaching team in Liwonde, said the operation had been “hugely successful”. “Not only do we share skills with the rangers, improving their efficiency and ability to patrol larger areas, but it also provides a unique opportunity for our soldiers to train in a challenging environment”, he said.

The UK government says it has committed more than £36m to tackle the illegal wildlife trade between 2014 and 2021. Part of this is to help support trans-boundary work to allow animals to move more safely between areas and across national borders.

(Site: BBC - adaptado.)