Essay On The Rights Of Women During The Enlightenment

The Enlightenment brought about many challenging ideas and statements sparking a drastic change in the society. One of the many enlightened ideas was that women should have the same rights as men. Wollstonecraft, the founder of modern European feminism during the age of the Enlightenment advocated for women’s rights and went against the accepted idea that women were only suitable for household work. (Spielvogel 520). Wollstonecraft, in laying out a foundation paved a path for women in the following generations to think critically and speak out for women’s equality. (Spielvogel 520). Wollstonecraft’s beliefs of equality for women are still recognized and debated in the modern society with Hillary Clinton, yet another bright, bold advocate fighting …show more content…
Gouges believed that the rights given to the men should parallel to the women. She values justice for women and total equality for all human beings. (Olympe de Gouges, The Declaration of the Rights of Woman (September 1791). This written article provided natural rights for the women because the Declaration of the Rights of Man the Citizen did not put into consideration that all female citizens and women should have the same protection of natural rights or political power. (Spielvogel 581). In discontent, Gouges gave voice to the women by addressing a number of rights that should be given to the female citizens. She advocated, “The purpose of any political association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of woman and man;these rights are liberty, property, security, and especially resistance to oppression.”(Spielvogel 581). Her message is very clear in speaking out about equality between the genders and in writing down a set of rights for women, she created a huge starting point to rid the society of discriminations against the