Olympe de Gouges wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and of the Female Citizen in 1791 to claim equality of rights between men and women and to denounce the injustices and discriminations suffered by women at that time.
The year 1791, we are in the midst of the French Revolution, a time when things are really changing in France. We have just adopted the Constitution, which officially establishes a constitutional monarchy. Basically, King Louis XVI is still there, but he now shares his power with an elected assembly. Despite all these changes, society remains quite restless: political debates are intense, citizens are mobilizing a lot, and there is no escaping the tensions regarding the roles of women, slaves, or different social classes. It is the perfect time to question everything that seemed taken for granted before, and that is exactly what Olympe de Gouges does by addressing the injustice between men and women.
Olympe de Gouges primarily wrote to denounce the blatant injustice experienced by women in her time. She was outraged that the Revolution, which was supposed to speak of freedom and equality, completely ignored the female half of the population. What she wanted, essentially, was for women to have exactly the same political, social, and legal rights as men. The right to vote, access to education, the ability to express oneself publicly: she demanded all of this without mincing her words. She also clearly condemned forced marriage, believing that a woman had every right to freely choose her life and her destiny. Essentially, for her, justice and equality could not exist without explicitly including women in civic society.
At the time, women did not have much of a voice. They were considered minors under guardianship, dependent on a father, brother, or husband for their entire lives. There was no way to make decisions without a man's approval, nor to manage their own property, even when they had it. Politically, they were completely sidelined: it was impossible for them to vote or hold an official position. Their access to education was extremely limited and geared toward their future roles as wives and mothers, with nothing particularly intellectual or ambitious. Professionally, it was just as difficult: apart from domestic work or family trades, almost all doors were closed to them. In short, before 1791, being a woman was not exactly a dream life in terms of freedom and autonomy.
Upon its release, the Declaration of Olympe de Gouges does not really achieve unanimous support. Written in 1791, it is mainly met with indifference or even outright mockery from some influential revolutionaries, who consider this call for equality between men and women at best unnecessary, at worst ridiculous. The majority of the leaders of the time therefore turn a blind eye to this activist text, seeing women's demands as secondary to the major political debates of the moment. However, despite this lack of immediate attention, a few intellectuals and feminist activists immediately recognize the importance and strength of the message conveyed by this text. Even though its concrete impact in the short term remains modest, the Declaration becomes, over time, a strong symbol of the feminist struggles to come.
The ideas of the Enlightenment aimed to challenge traditions and to put the individual, their freedom, and their reason at the forefront. Olympe de Gouges fully embraced these principles by claiming women's natural right to equality and freedom. Her text is in line with philosophers like Voltaire, who criticized social injustice, and especially Rousseau, although she did not hesitate to openly contradict him regarding the role of women in society. She adopts the logic of human rights but takes it further by explicitly including women to denounce the hypocrisy of a revolution meant to liberate everyone. For Olympe de Gouges, it is impossible to seriously talk about human rights without women having full access to them.
Olympe de Gouges, whose real name was Marie Gouze, chose this pseudonym in reference to her mother, to signify her intellectual independence and openly display her feminist determination.
Although Olympe de Gouges is now considered a pioneer of feminism, in her time, her egalitarian ideas were often mocked and earned her many political enemies.
Condemned by the Revolutionary Tribunal, Olympe de Gouges was executed during the Reign of Terror in 1793, primarily due to her courageous political stance and her open criticism of the government.
The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen by Olympe de Gouges serves as a direct response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen adopted in 1789, aiming to denounce the absence of women in this foundational text of the French Revolution.
In 1791, French society was still very reluctant to accept feminist demands, which were considered radical by many. The innovative ideas of Olympe de Gouges were largely rejected or ignored by the revolutionary authorities and the dominant patriarchal society, which explains the immediate lack of favorable response to this Declaration at the time.
Before the French Revolution, women's rights were extremely limited: they could not hold political responsibilities or enjoy equal citizenship rights. Subject to parental and then marital authority, women were deprived of fundamental freedoms such as voting, having personal income, or easily obtaining a divorce.
The Enlightenment philosophers, such as Rousseau, Voltaire, and Diderot, promoted equality, critical reason, and individual freedoms. Although they rarely directly addressed women's emancipation, Olympe de Gouges drew on these universalist ideals to extend their concepts to women's rights, thereby demanding their full inclusion in revolutionary principles.
Written in response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789, this declaration advocates for legal, political, social, and educational equality between men and women. It denounces sexist discrimination and specifically demands that women be allowed to fully participate in French political life.
Olympe de Gouges was a French writer, playwright, and feminist activist of the 18th century. She is primarily known for having written the 'Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen' in 1791, and she actively advocated for gender equality and denounced slavery.
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