```html Anniversary: 50 Years of Women's Rights in Austria ```

For women's rights in Austria, 2025 is an anniversary year. Under Bruno Kreisky's SPÖ single-party government, not only was abortion decriminalized in the first three months in 1975, but a major family law reform was also implemented. At that time, the autonomous women's movement also pushed for reforms. To this day - 50 years later - not all demands from back then have been implemented, as founding member Erica Fischer emphasized in an interview with APA.

1975: Abolition of the Husband's Position as Head of the Family

In 1975, the position of the husband as head of the family was abolished. He could no longer forbid his wife from pursuing a profession, and the family residence and name could be chosen jointly. Marianna Nenning, curator at the House of Austrian History (hdgö), spoke to APA about an important foundation for women's daily lives. The museum is currently dedicating a small exhibition to the anniversary - in the foyer showcase, issues of the women's magazine AUF, published until 2011, and a typewriter of an editor can be seen.

After World War II, a very traditional family image prevailed, Nenning recounted about the position of women before the reforms. The woman was subordinate to the man, not only having to ask for permission to work but also taking care of the household and children. As a girl and woman, she felt inferior at the time, said the 82-year-old Fischer. This was partly because her parents were war refugees - "but not only." She did not dare to pursue a career in something typically done by men, even though it was not forbidden at the time. "But it never even crossed my mind." She studied interpreting and translating - "practically a mediator position between men."

Illegality Did Not Prevent Abortions

The fact that abortions were illegal did not prevent their occurrence, Nenning also noted. Fischer also had an abortion "in the illegal time." "The constant fear of becoming pregnant," before the contraceptive pill came on the market, was "simply dreadful," she recounted.

The first feminist meeting took place in 1972, according to Fischer. At that time, women's movements emerged all over the world, and there was a sense of new beginnings. The participating women quickly began to form working groups, and the movement positioned itself outside of parliament and on the streets.

In contrast, women's rights movements of the early 20th century primarily demanded women's suffrage, according to Nenning. The second women's movement in the 1970s then declared the private sphere - such as the family - a political issue. It began with abortion, Fischer said when asked about the main concerns of the movement. They supported the activities of the SPÖ in this regard. Women who needed an abortion were sent to a clinic in what was then Yugoslavia.

Even 50 Years Later, There Is Criticism of the Time Limit Solution

While Nenning attributes a significant influence on the implementation of reforms to the women's movement, Fischer stated that the laws were ultimately implemented by the SPÖ - in which the later women's minister Johanna Dohnal was active at the time. The desire of the women's movement for health insurance to cover abortions has not been fulfilled to this day. And even 50 years later, there is criticism of the time limit solution. Recently, alongside activists, the SPÖ and the Greens, now represented in the government, have called for the relevant paragraph to be removed from the penal code altogether.

Fischer sees a success of the women's movement in the fact that discussions began about violence between men and women - from domestic violence to rape to child abuse. "That was really the original contribution of feminism from the autonomous women's movement," said Fischer.

She advises the new women's movement to focus, among other things, on the topic of motherhood. "As soon as children come, the relationship between man and woman shifts," Fischer said, adding that the labor market takes little account of society's need for children. She also warned that the wheel could be turned back, for example, by the rollback of abortion rights in the USA.

(APA/Red)

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