BAUW - the Bulgarian Association of University Women (originally named the Association of Bulgarian Women University Graduates) was founded on May 29th, 1924 in Sofia, and united several hundred Bulgarian women with university degrees earned in Bulgaria and abroad. The Association was dedicated to promoting the professional development of women intellectuals, and comprised of four sections: the Wo
men Lawyers section (1928), the Women Artists section (1928), the Women Writers section (1930), and the Women Students section (1937). On July 28th, 1925, the Association became a member of the International Federation of University Women (IFUW), and actively participated in its congresses and exchange meetings. After the communist take-over on September 9th, 1944, BAUW came under the direct control of the Communist Party and the state. Its old leadership was removed and replaced with leading women communists of the day. Its property was confiscated, while its archives dismantled. In the mid-1950s, BAUW ceased to exist. BAUW was restored in 1990, after the democratic changes swept over the countries of the former Soviet bloc.
