The Liberated Female

This book examines the Hungarian experiment to liberate women from servitude. It provides details on the problems of Hungarian women in employment, in the household, and in the sexual relations and outlines the social policies of the government and the patriarchal culture values in society.

Owing to the influence of Marxist ideology and the peculiar nature of the Hungarian culture, women in Hungary have achieved legal equality with men. This legal status, however, has not allowed women a full share of their society's obligations, resources, and opportunities for self-fulfillment. Ivan and Nancy Volgyes describe the movement toward women's liberation in Hungary and offer reasons for its failure to achieve complete success. They suggest, as well, ways in which the women of the U.S. and other Western industrial nations can learn from the Hungarian experience.