According to a reader from 1850, it was unfair that women had to obey the same laws and pay the same taxes as men, yet were not granted the right to vote or participate in political decisions.
Read the source given below and answer the questions that follow. “How were liberty and equality for women to be defined? The liberal politician Carl Welcker, an elected member of the Frankfurt Parliament, expressed the following views: ‘Nature has created men and women to carry out different functions … Man, the stronger, the bolder and freer of the two, has been designated as protector of the family, its provider, meant for public tasks in the domain of law, production, defence. Woman, the weaker, dependent and timid, requires the protection of man. Her sphere is the home, the care of the children, and the nurturing of the family. Do we require any further proof that given such differences, equality between the genders would only endanger harmony and destroy the dignity of the family?’ Louise Otto-Peters (1819-95) was a political activist who founded a women’s journal and subsequently a feminist political association. (i) According to an anonymous reader in 1850, what was considered unjust regarding women’s rights? (ii) What did Louise Otto-Peters argue about the concept of liberty in her editorial? (iii) What was the controversy within the liberal movement regarding women’s political rights during the 1848 revolutions?
Share
(i) According to a reader from 1850, it was unfair that women had to obey the same laws and pay the same taxes as men, yet were not granted the right to vote or participate in political decisions.
(ii) Louise Otto-Peters stated that true liberty cannot be divided. Those who enjoy freedom must also support the freedom of others, including women, emphasizing that denying women equal rights contradicts the very idea of liberty.
(iii) During the 1848 revolutions, a major debate arose in the liberal movement over women’s political rights. Although women took an active part in the struggle, male liberals refused to give them voting rights, creating dissatisfaction among women reformers.