Women in the Third Republic - Lecture Origins of discrimination · The Third Republic is renowned a patriarchal regime · French women weren't granted the right to vote under the Third Republic and lacked equality in other domains too -> something different to most other European countries. · However, this doesn't mean they made no progress in improving their social status - it just means progress was slow and there was no particularly significant achievement for French feminists during this time. · The Third Republic sees itself as the successor of the 1789 French Revolution and as the movement of human rights for the citizen -> so why would it deny women of equal rights and oppose the movement of universal suffrage - for men and women? · Origins of discrimination against women = since Middle Ages (before Renaissance and Enlightenment periods). Men seen as the main sex and female seen as irrational and unable to control their emotions - marriage was so women could be controlled by men. · Enlightenment justified these claims by using science - said the only purpose of women was to reproduce · 17th Century - Montesquieu - denounced the exploitation of women and demanded equal rights for women to divorce from men. · 18th Century - Diderot - denounced certain disadvantages women had to face · 1791 - Olympe de Gouges La Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne - protesting against the revolutionists who refused to respect the status of women = first French feminist? -> Most French politicians had a persisting belief that men and women are different · As the rights of women weren't questioned and were refused to be questioned during the French revolution of 1789, it isn't shocking that they weren't considered by the Third Republic at the end of 19th century · La Marseillaise - national anthem in 1879 The status of women in the Third Republic
· The Republicans didn't consider offering the vote to women during the Third Republic, but they did make some changes which effected the daily life of women and seemed to improve it. · Education - there seemed to be equality between education of females and males in the Third Republic - Jules Ferry 9th August 1879 -> girls don't only have to be educated but someone with a title. - 21st December 1880 -> secondary education for girls - 16th June 1881 -> free and secular education for all boys and girls - 26th March 1882 -> it is obligatory for boys and girls to attend school until the age of 13 -> HOWEVER reality is more complicated - Despite the law of 26th march 1882 which made it obligatory for all boys and girls to attend school until the age of 13, parents still continued to take their daughters out of school from the age of 11 or 12. - If they entered secondary education, however, their experience was very different to a male experience ... -