Women in 1948 newspaper were they able to send letters or letters to advice columns etc?

yes. The right to vote was granted in the 1920's, and women were very active in the 40's after World War 2. The plain fact that women were factory workers, general laborers during the war made the "going back" to housewives and mothers not an attractive option. This was the beginning of the women's liberation movement, although it wasn't that baldly put.