empowered to
deposit money in a savings bank without the consent of her husband; the
limit of her deposit being 3000 francs ($600). The wife also controls her
earnings. If, however, _she draws more than 100 francs_ (_$20_) _a month
from the savings bank, the husband may protest_. Women are now admitted to
family councils; they can act as guardians; they can act as witnesses to a
marriage. Affiliation cases were made legal in 1906. On December 19, 1908,
women were given active and passive suffrage in arbitration courts for
labor disputes.

The Belgium secondary school system is exceptional because the government
has established a rather large number of girls' high schools. However,
these schools do not prepare for the university entrance examinations
(_Abiturientenexamen_). Women contemplating entering the university, must
prepare for these examinations privately. This was done by Miss Marie
Popelin, of Brussels, who wished to study law. The universities of
Brussels, Ghent, and Liege have been open to women since 1886. Hence Miss
Popelin could execute her plans; in 1888 she received the degree of Doctor
of Laws. She made an attempt in 1888-1889 to secure admission to the bar
as a practicing lawyer, but the Brussels Court of Appeals decided the case
against her.[86]

Miss Marie Popelin is the leader of the middle-class woman's rights
movement in Belgium. She is in charge of the Woman's Rights League (_Ligue
du droit des femmes_), founded in 1890. With the support of Mrs. Denis,
Mrs. Parent, and Mrs. Fontaine, Miss Popelin organized, in 1897, an
international woman's congress in Brussels. Many representatives of
foreign countries attended. One of the German representatives, Mrs. Anna
Simpson, was astonished by the indifference of the people of Brussels. In
her report she says: "Where were the women of Brussels during the days of
the Congress? They did not attend, for the middle class is not much
interested in our cause. It was especially for this class that the
Congress was held." Dr. Popelin is also president of the league that has
since 1908 taken up the struggle against the official regulation of
prostitution.

The schools and convents are the chief fields of activity for the
middle-class Belgian women engaged in non-domestic callings. As yet there
are only a few women doctors. One of these, Mrs. Derscheid-Delcour, has
been appointed as chief physician at the Brussels Orphans' Home. Mrs.
Delcour graduated in 1893 at