Introduction
In the political system of any state, the conflict of ideologies and clash of views is a natural part of evolutionary social development. As derived from Marxist philosophy, the highest point of such a class struggle is revolution. Human history knows many examples of revolutionary uprisings, violent clashes, and armed civil conflicts that have occurred in virtually every era. However, it is not so many revolutions as a phenomenon but the role of women in them that this essay’s subject. More specifically, the work aims to assess the role of women critically and qualitatively in revolutionary uprisings from the perspective of what they had to offer to public rebellion and what they risked.
Main body
Of primary importance to this paper is a discussion of why gender is essential to study in this context. According to historical references, women’s role before the French Revolution was believed to have been limited to performing domestic tasks (Hufton, 2017). Against this background, solving problems of national importance could not become the responsibility of women because, as Wiesner-Hanks writes, “is it to men that nature has confided domestic cares?” (Wiesner-Hanks, 2021, p. 154). It is the existence of gender conflict that determines the motivation for the need to discuss the role of women in times of revolution. Stanton (1848) wrote that men have historically suppressed women and prevented them from fighting for their rights. If it is believed that a woman’s only destiny is to take care of her family and be faithful to her husband, then deviation from such behavior — gender deviancy — is an excellent reason for discussion. It was, however, during the French Revolution that radical ideas of equality and justice raised a serious question about the social role of women in a rapidly changing society.
The ideas of equality raised by the French Revolution found profound public reflection. Already in preparation for the revolutionary uprisings, an essential role of opposition propaganda and education was given to women who educated young oppositionists on critical questions of philosophy, law, and history (Foreman, 2015). The origin of this term is not coincidental since it was in the French salons that ideas of gender equality originated. It follows that one of the most important contributions to the creation of opportunities for women to participate in revolutionary uprisings was made by the transformative events of late eighteenth-century France.
It is noteworthy that the Enlightenment era was ambivalent about the role of women in the struggle against the state. While the most progressive views emerged during the French Revolution, many philosophers continued to view women exclusively in terms of teaching and educating children, while men were to engage in more meaningful activities. On the other hand, the memory of the harsh laws of the ancient and then medieval world, which were unfair to women but loyal to men, was still relevant (McVay, 2009). To put it another way, there was still a stigma attached to women, which was a priority for social policy and women’s activist movements. To some extent, it could be said that these ideas catalyzed the growth of social protest, which eventually led to an expansion of the importance of women. Meanwhile, during the New Age, women’s social role became more often discussed in favorable, ambiguous terms.
Since women were given a public voice equal to that of men, revolutionary sentiments in society have not diminished. Since the French Revolution, humanity has experienced the Haitian, Russian, and Chinese Revolutions and other violent and nonviolent uprisings of the past two centuries. Each of these uprisings created a different contribution to the development of a history of bridging the gender gap. Ultimately, this has resulted in the modern woman becoming a fully integral part of any social protest, for it is no longer the prerogative of the strictly male population. Pankhurst (1913) made an excellent point when she said that the loss of the newly acquired female voice would cause a civil war. Thus, women’s political and social role has become critical to modern society, and that is why women have something to offer in the struggle against the state.
One of these women’s contributions is the use of all the same tools that men have traditionally used. In the fourth episode of the mini-show, Foreman (2015) points out that there is little difference between the total contributions of women and men to the history of the world, including the history of revolutions. Similar thoughts are expressed by Wiesner-Hanks: “women’s roles as colonizers and as colonized tend to be underestimated in world history narratives…” (Wiesner-Hanks, 2021, p. 147). However, women’s efforts tended to be neglected socially, which created the apparent problem of the gender gap. Letters written by Adams in 1776 to her husband correlate with this. The woman in them asks her socially engaged spouse to take care of women’s rights (Adams, 1776). While this is not a contribution to the history of confrontation with the state in the literal sense, this approach reflects a female concern for society comparable to that of men. It is safe to say that women have always tried to use available resources and opportunities to participate in revolutions, even indirectly. However, it was precisely this participation that meant that such women had something to lose.
High social importance led to an increase in perceived responsibility. The main threats to women’s well-being remained fundamental human rights and family ties that could be broken. De Gouges writes about this, literally pointing out that women’s only weakness remains that of marriage (De Gouges, 1997). In other words, women’s active opposition to the state system may ultimately lead to problems related to family well-being. This includes threats from the security forces, forced deprivation of parental rights, and criminal prosecution. The current practice of opposition movements clearly demonstrates these trends.
It is enough to study the current political crises in developing countries to understand how important it is for women to be pressured into having a family. The Belarusian protests of 2020-2021 show that contemporary revolutionaries could be pressured politically through threats to their families, after which the woman was forced to leave the country. This practice is expected to have been very popular in many eras since the bond between woman and family is perceived to be much deeper than that between man and family. Consequently, in times of revolutions and rebellions against the state, the fear of losing her family goods was the lever that prevented almost free participation in episodes of social conflict. However, if women took such risks, they knew exactly what they wanted to gain.
It is difficult to pinpoint all the social, economic, and political benefits that women, for the most part, sought by participating in the revolutionary uprisings. Primarily it concerns the emancipation of their civil rights and the recognition of their freedoms (Wiesner-Hanks, 2021). It follows from this data that women wanted conditions in which they would have opportunities commensurate with those of men. It is about opportunities to realize their potential and develop in economic, political, and cultural spheres, where women would not experience problems related to discrimination. In addition, women probably wanted better working conditions, higher wages, and recognition of their social role. Obviously, these were very large-scale transformations that required considerable effort and time. However, as history has shown, in the end, these outcomes were achieved.
Conclusion
In conclusion, one should emphasize the transforming social role of women. While in the past, the basis for the perception of women was their family function, with the development of progressive ideas, women have ceased to be additions to men. Such trends were especially noticeable in the history of revolutionary uprisings when women were empowered to promote enlightenment and fight in the streets against the state. Revolutionary tendencies were not uncommon for today’s political agenda either, but women’s role in this was much different from what it used to be. From the revolution, women wanted recognition of their civil liberties and an environment in which they could fully realize themselves commensurate with men. In other words, the basic message of most women as participants in the revolutions was to emancipate them from their rights. Obviously, in this case, women faced the risks of losing their own freedom or of having their families threatened.
References
Adams, A. (1776). Letter from Abigail Adams to John Adams, 1776. Adams Family Papers: An Electronic Archive.
De Gouges, O. (1997). Declaration of the rights of women, 1791. Fordham University.
Foreman, A. (2015). The ascent of woman [Film]. BBW Two.
Hufton, O. (2017). Women and the limits of citizenship in the French revolution. University of Toronto Press.
McVay, P. (2009). Envisioning women in world history: 1500-present. McGraw-Hill Higher Education.
Pankhurst, E. (1913). Militant Suffragist.
Stanton, E. (1848). Declaration of sentiments: Seneca Falls convention. New York.
Wiesner-Hanks, M. E. (2021). Gender in history: Global perspectives. John Wiley & Sons.