Declaration of the Rights of Woman was the first registered document in modern history that demanded equality of rights regardless of gender. The declaration was cry of women to stop oppression from men and the tyranny of marriage as an institution. Even though the document how now immediate consequences around the globe, it was later use to disseminate the ideas of gender equality around the globe. This essay claims that the Declaration of the Rights of Woman was a turning point in the world history in the question of women rights and feminism.
The Declaration of the Rights of Woman was written by Olympe de Gouges in 1791 as a response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man. In 1789, France’s National Constituent Assembly published the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which was inspired by the ideas of all people having natural rights that they can examine. The declaration included seventeen articles and outlines the basic human rights, including the right for freedom from oppression, right for possession, and admission to public positions and employments (RefWorld, 2023). While the Declaration of the Rights of Man intended to pronounce all citizens of France equal, it intentionally left half of the population of the world by no mentioning women. Olympe de Gouges’ document mimics the Declaration of the Rights of Man in design, as it also has 17 articles that are updated to include the rights of a women. The fact that de Gouges’ document is written in the same fashion as the Declaration of the Rights of Man makes it appear as an important document that be guide the lives of French citizens and policy-makers.
The Declaration of the Rights of Woman is a start of advocacy for the rights of women instead of crying for help. The declaration stars with a world-famous preamble that says “Man, are you capable of being fair? A woman is asking: at least you will allow her that right. Tell me? What gave you the sovereign right to oppress my sex?” (Warman, 2016, p. 49). In this passage, de Gouges clearly confronts the tyranny of men calling for their morality. Instead of just portraying women as victims of male’s oppression, de Gouges encourages both men and women to act upon the problem. Olympe de Gouge portrays women as strong and independent being by describing them as “the sex that is superior in beauty as it is in courage during the pains of childbirth” (Warman, 2016, p. 51). Thus, the declaration is a turning point in the rhetoric concerning women rights.
The gives women hope that the legal status of women in marriages changes. The declaration says that “marriage is the tomb of trust and love” (Warman, 2016, p. 51). The declaration ends by describing the social contract between men and women in marriage, which is crucial point for women in France at that time. This social contract acted as a model for a private contract of married couples.
The Declaration of Rights of Woman had a historic resonance around the globe. In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft a Vindication of the Rights of Woman: with Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects in response to the declaration. Even though Wollstonecraft did not state that men and women were created equal, she explicitly attacked the double standards surrounding the legal status of men and women in Britain. Similarly, in 1848, Elizabeth Cady Stanton wrote Declaration of Sentiments, which mimicked the United States Declaration of Independence in design. Such an approach to writing a document was inspired by the Declaration of the Rights of Woman.
In conclusion, the analysis of the document demonstrated that the Declaration of the Rights of Woman in the history of women’s rights movement. First, the declaration was the first document in the modern history that was written in a formal fashion that followed the design of crucial documents in the world history. Second, the declaration changes the rhetoric to advocacy of women rather than just picturing them as victims of men. Finally, the declaration inspired both women all over the world to act to protect their rights.
References
RefWorld. (2023). France: Declaration of the Right of Man and the Citizen. Web.
Warman, C. (Ed.). (2016). Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793), Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen, 1791. In Tolerance: The Beacon of the Enlightenment (1st ed., Vol. 3, pp. 49–51). Open Book Publishers. Web.