Teaching (1904–1931) Dobelli was an English and Italian instructor at the
normal school of Rome. She strongly believed women had a right to economic independence and encouraged her students to prepare for a future without requiring support from men. On her quest to reform women's education in Italy, Dobelli recognized the lack of preparation girls had for secondary school resulting from primary focus on domestic science. She proposed educational reforms which would make their subjects be less intense, suggesting they should be divided into four sectors – science and mathematics, history and literature, pedagogy, and social sciences – each of which would have a path toward accessing university. She also advocated for co-educational courses. During the war, she served as a volunteer nurse. Between 1927 and 1931, she was affiliated with the (Western Technical School) in
Genoa.
Activism (1903–1921) Dobelli joined the
Consiglio Nazionale delle Donne Italiane (CNDI, National Council of Italian Women), which was founded in 1903 and affiliated with the
International Council of Women. Along with
Teresa Labriola and
Linda Malnati, among others, she served on the organization's executive board, which was chaired by
Gabriella Rasponi Spalletti. She attended the 1908 (National Congress of Italian Women), speaking in favor of educational reforms. She was one of the founders of the CNDI's (National Committee for Women's Suffrage) and served as its secretary from 1908 to 1915. In her view, without the franchise women had no voice in the laws or policies created to protect them and their communities. She urged women to fight for the vote as it was "the only direct means of influencing and controlling the actions of those who are called on to make the laws". She served on the executive committee of the along with
Teresa Labriola,
Ida Magliocchetti,
Maria Miani, and , among others. In 1915, when the
Women at the Hague met and formed what would become the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), she joined the Italian section and left the as it supported the war. Immediately after the Hague congress, the Italian WILPF organization was founded with an executive board in Rome. The board, consisting of Dobelli,
Enrichetta Chiaraviglio-Giolitti,
Rosa Genoni, and
Elisa Agnini Lollini, was formed and two branches, one in Milan and one in Rome, were founded. Dobelli was chosen as correspondence secretary for the national branch because of her fluency in English. She also served as chair of the Rome branch of the WILPF. Although she attempted to arrange a conference with international leaders including
Jane Addams and
Anita Augspurg, among others, Dobelli had to cancel her plans and notified
Rosika Schwimmer that Italy's entry into
World War I made that impossible. In 1916, the national WILPF led a campaign for the release of prisoners of war because of the inhumane treatment they faced in enemy prisons. The action was seen as anti-patriotic and caused stricter surveillance of WILPF members and a search of Genoni's home. Between 1917 and 1918, WILPF led a campaign to recognize illegitimate children and provide state assistance to the families of servicemen. As a result, Dobelli's mail was searched and she was forced to report regularly to police headquarters, where she was questioned about her activities and associates. Genoni came under surveillance by the authorities because the Milan branch was deemed not to have filed the proper paperwork. As a result, the Milan branch and Genoni ceased to be active from 1919. That year, Dobelli was to be a delegate to the WILPF Congress held in
Zürich, Switzerland, but all the Italian delegates were denied passports. In June the national WILPF marched with members of the to protest the provisions of the
Treaty of Versailles, which they felt were unjust. At issue were trade restrictions which limited adequate food supplies, armed intervention in Russia, and the return of prisoners of war. The June march was followed by another joint action with socialists and WILPF members to press the
legislature for women's suffrage. In August 1919 the parliament passed reforms in support of women's legal and political rights, but the ruling coalition was defeated in the
1919 Italian general election and the bills were not implemented. Intense social conflict including strikes, the rise of
paramilitary gangs, and widespread violence made corresponding with the international WILPF organization increasingly difficult and by 1921, Dobelli was no longer in communication with the headquarters. All of the executive board members were watched by Directorate General for Public Security of the
fascist regime because of their socialist and pacifist leanings, making it difficult for them to participate regularly in feminist networks. American press often dubbed Dobelli as "the
Jane Addams of Italy". ==Writing==