diff --git a/SWIG/Source/Swig/swig.i b/SWIG/Source/Swig/swig.i
index 9245f7163..82d6096e4 100644
--- a/SWIG/Source/Swig/swig.i
+++ b/SWIG/Source/Swig/swig.i
@@ -639,6 +639,13 @@ like Python objects, although some functionality may be different.";
    $target = Swig_PyDOH_new($source);
 }
 
+%typemap(python,in) char * {
+   if (Swig_PyDOH_check($source))
+      $target = Char(((PyDOH *)$source)->doh);
+   else
+      $target = PyString_AsString($source);
+}
+
 %title "SWIG", after
 
 %section "DOH Objects", before