Women in Europe
WYN Project
La femme est l’avenir de l’homme.
Louis ARAGON
Woman is the Future of Man
EVOLUTION OF THE STATUS OF
WOMEN
I. The historical evolution of the Status of Women in Europe
A) The status of women until the 20th century
1) The inheritance
The weight of tradition and culture in the development of the social role of
women.
2) Modernities
Cultural developments, social, political and the emancipation of women.
B) The emergence of feminism
1) The role of European women
The three waves of feminism in Europe
• 1900-1914, "golden age" of feminism focuses on civil and political equality
• 1920-1930, the "crazy years" which raise the question of sexual identity and
homosexuality
• 1970-1980, the years of the Movement for the Liberation of Women
(Women's Lib or MLF), centered on human body, contraception, abortion.
2) The great figures of feminism in Europe
Women who have devoted a large part of their lives to the defense of the
feminist cause will be mentioned in the last part of this presentation
II. The framing the Status of Women in European law
A) The right of the European Convention on Human Right (ECHR)
According to Article 14 of the Convention, "The enjoyment of rights and
freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination
on any ground such as sex, race, color, language, religion, political opinion or
other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority,
property, birth or other status ".
B) The right of the European Union
Since 2000, the European Social Agenda sets out "equality between men and
women" as a priority for all actors of social policy. The European Institute for
Equality between men and women was established in December 2006 in
Vilnius (Lithuania).
Its missions are
- to collect, analyze, disseminate reliable and comparable data,
- to develop methodological tools to promote gender equality / women
- to promote dialogue at EU level and the exchange of good practices
- to enable citizens of EU to have easier access to achievements and prospects
in this field.
III. The framing on Status of Women by national laws in the
seven countries of the partnership WYN
For each country the final text will present the main characteristics of
the condition of women, key data and statistics
MAJOR FIGURES OF FEMINISM IN
EUROPE
SPAIN
Mayor María Fernández de la Cámara María Pita
1560-1643 "Joan of Arc" of Galicia is a heroine
who in 1589 saved the city La Coruna after a
famous battle against the troops of the corsair
Francis Drake of the English navy.
Concepcion Arenal 1820-1893
is a journalist, poet, novelist,
and dramatic author. She was
the first woman to study at a
Spanish university, and to be a
law graduate.
Lili Alvarez 1905-1998
was a Spanish multi- sport competitor,
an international tennis champion, an
author, and a journalist.
Federica Montseny 1905-1994 is an
intellectual and a militant anarchist. She
is the first Spanish woman to become
minister ( minister of Health between
1936 and 1937)
ITALY
Goliarda Sapienza 1924 -1996 was an
actress and a writer.
Her novel The Art of Joy, considered to be a
major work of contemporary Italian
literature, provoked a lot of reticence for its
feminist aspects. It was published in Italian
in 1998, after the death of its author.
Elena Belotti Giannini born in Rome
on 2 December 1929, is an author
and feminist pedagogue. Director of
Centro Montessori since1960 until
1980, she is the author of the
bestseller As for girls, published in
1973.
Maria Eugenia Roccella Cavallari
born in1953 in Bologna is an Italian
politician, Secretary of State
between 2008 and 2011. Since she
was 18 years old, she belonged to
women's liberation movement,
becoming the voice of feminist
battles in Italy.
Angela Diana Di Francesca born in
Cefalu, Palermo in 1954 is a writer
and a poet. She brought a
significant contribution to the
discussion on feminine cause by
drawing attention of the most
important Italian newspapers and
radio stations on the topic of
gender discrimination.
HUNGARY
Pálné Veres (1815–1895) was a
teacher and feminist, known for
promoting women's rights. She
opened the first secondary school
for women in Hungary and founded
the Hungarian National Association
for Women's Education.
Rosika Schwimmer (1877–1948) She was born
in a Jewish family in Budapest in AustriaHungary. In 1897, she founded the Hungarian
Feminist Association, helped to found
Hungarian National Council of Women, later
organized the first Women's Trade Union in
Hungary. In 1913 she became a corresponding
secretary of the International Woman Suffrage
Alliance.
Orshi Drozdik born in 1946 is a Hungarian
feminist artist, based in New York. Her work
consists in series of installations exploring
connected themes, sometimes over many
years.
Enikő Bollobás born in 1952 is Professor of the
department of American Studies at Budapest
university. Her professional interests range from
theories of modernism and postmodernism,
feminist theories and criticism.
ROMANIA
Maria Rosetti (1819 -1893) was a Romanian
political activist, journalist and feminist. She
played an active part in the Wallachian Revolution
of 1848.
Sarmiza Bilcescu (1867-1935) was a
Romanian lawyer, the first European
woman to obtain a license and a PhD in
Law from the University of Paris, and the
first one in her country to practice law.
Izabela Sadoveanu-Evan (1870 -1941)
was a literary critic, educationist,
opinion journalist, poet and feminist
militant.
Mihaela Miroiu born in 1955 in Hunedoara,
is a political theorist and East Europe’s most
prominent feminist philosopher.
TURKEY
Halide Edip Adıvar (1884-1964)
was a novelist and feminist
political leader. She was best
known for her novels criticizing
the low social status of Turkish
women and what she saw as the
lack of interest of most women in
changing their situation.
Nezihe Muhiddin (1889 -1958) was an Ottoman
and Turkish women's rights activist, journalist,
writer and political leader. She is the founder of the
People’s Party of Women in July 1923. This party
was founded for the political and social rights of
women.
Sabiha Derviş Sertel (1895- 1968 ) was
the first professional feminine
journalist and one of the first feminist
writers in Turkey. She began writing
essays at the age of sixteen on
women's rights and social issues.
Konca Kuris (1960–1999) She contested the
orthodox Islamic teachings on women, and
defended that the rights of women had a place
in Islam. She was murdered in Konya, on the 20
July 1999.
FRANCE
Marie-Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793)
was a French writer. She became a
politician and polemicist. She was killed
during the Revolution. Author of the
Declaration of the Rights of Women,
she has left many writings in favor of
civil and political rights of women and
on the abolition of slavery.
Simone de Beauvoir (1908 - 1986) was a
philosopher and novelist. She has shared the
life of the philosopher Jean Paul Sartre. Simone
de Beauvoir is an important theorist of
feminism and she participated in the women's
liberation movement in the 70’s.
Simone Veil, born in 1927.
Survivor of the Holocaust, she was named
Minister of Health in 1974. In this role, she
enacted the "Veil Law", promulgated in
1975, that decriminalizes the abortion.
From 1979 to 1982, she was the first
woman to chair the European Parliament.
She was elected to the French Academy in
March 2010.
Fadela Amara, born in 1964 is a politician.
President of the association « Ni putes ni
soumises » which defence the rights of women,
promoting respect, secularism and equality.
That’s all folks
…..for the moment!
Thank you.