noun
women and children
Collective term for women and children, often used in contexts of protection, evacuation, or social welfare.
災害時には、まず婦女子の安全を確保すべきだ。
In a disaster, the safety of women and children should be secured first.
Can refer to an adult woman or a wife, but this usage is somewhat dated and often replaced by 女性 or 妻 in modern Japanese.
彼は婦女子に優しい言葉をかけるのが上手だ。
He is good at speaking kindly to women.
Means 'wife and children'; 婦女子 is broader and can include women in general, not necessarily one's own family.
Compound of 婦 (woman, wife) and 女子 (woman, girl, child). The combination originally referred to women and children collectively, later extending to adult women or wives in older usage.