Anne Kirstine Bruun (1853–1934) was a Danish schoolteacher and

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

activist. An early proponent of equal pay for male and female teachers, in 1900 she became the first woman to serve on the central committee of the Danish Union of Teachers. She was an enthusiastic member of the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS ( da, Dansk Kvindesamfund) is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Peac ...

and a frequent contributor to their magazine '' Kvinden og Samfundet'' which she edited for a time in the mid-1890s. Bruun was an early supporter of the Women's Society's direct involvement in the fight for

women's voting rights Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

Early life

Born on 14 February 1853 in

Varde Varde is a Danish city in southwestern Jutland and is the primary city in the municipality of Varde, in Region of Southern Denmark. In 2015 municipality changed its motto to "We in nature" to emphasize its rural atmosphere. The town has an old ma ...

, Anne Kirstine Bruun was the daughter of Hans Christian Bruun (1819–1879), a tailor, and Kirstine Dorthea Terpager (1811–1872). While working as a housemaid for an elderly lady in Varde, she became acquainted with opportunities for women to become teachers after coming across the journal ''Blade fra danske Kvinder'' and articles by

Natalie Zahle Ida Charlotte Natalie Zahle (11 June 1827 – 11 August 1913) was a Danish reform pedagogue and pioneer of women's education. She founded N. Zahle's School in 1851. Life Her parents were the Roskilde vicar Ernst Sophus Wilhelm Zahle (1797-1837) ...

in the newspaper '' Fædrelandet''. Despite her parents' objections, she passed Beyer, Bohr og Femmer's examination for women teachers when she was 21. She then attended Ludvig Trier's course in lecturing. A practising Christian, she was inspired by Rudolph Frimodt (1828–1879) who headed Copenhagen's

Inner Mission The Inner Mission (german: Innere Mission, also translated as Home Mission) was and is a movement of German evangelists, set up by Johann Hinrich Wichern in Wittenberg in 1848 based on a model of Theodor Fliedner. It quickly spread from Germany to ...

. In 1875, she became an assistant in the newly established parish mission in the

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport station ...

district of Copenhagen, conducting children's services in St. Stephen's Church.

Career

Teaching

In 1874, Bruun was employed by the Municipal School Authority for Copenhagen and Frederiksberg, teaching mainly in Copenhagen school and completing her career at Sundholm Skole. In 1896, she was a key founding member of Fonden for trængende Lærerbørns Uddannelse (Foundation for the Education of the Needy Children of Teachers). From 1900 to 1915, she served on Danmarks Lærerforenings hovedbestyrelse (Danish Teachers' Association's Central Management Board) where she was the first female management representative. She contributed in particular to a new curriculum for the authority's schools.

Women's rights

In 1889, Bruun became one of the first advocates of equal pay for men and women, contributing to work on new legislation which in 1908 established the starting salaries of women teachers at a level comparable to those for men. Bruun was also an active member of the

and of Foreningen imod Lovbeskyttelse for Usædelighed (FLU), an organization which fought against public prostitution. In 1886, she became a member of FLU's management committee and in 1898, was appointed to its board of directors. She was the organization's most talented speaker, openly supporting its cause. When legislation was passed against public prostitution, FLU was dissolved in 1907. Bruun then became a co-founding member of Vagten mod Offentlig Prostition (Guard against Public Prostitution). She also fought against sex-trafficking, serving on the Danish branch of the Committee for the Suppression of the While Slave Trade. In 1889, Bruun became a board member of the central Women's Society, heading the organization in 1890 during the sickness of its chair,

Kirstine Frederiksen Elisabeth Kirstine Frederiksen (1845–1903) was a Danish pedagogue, writer and women's activist. Thanks to study trips to the United States, she was a pioneer of visual pedagogy in Denmark, publishing ''Anskuelsesundervisning, Haandbog for Lærer ...

. From 1895 to 1897, she edited the Society's journal ''Kvinden og Samfindet'', frequently contributing article both before and after. In 1899, Bruun was elected chair of the Society's Copenhagen branch. In 1907, she succeeded in having women admitted to the Technical Society's School. For some time, Bruun had been a proponent of women's suffrage, despite the official stand of the Women's Society. As the position evolved, she became a member of the Society's electoral committee in 1904 and joined the Kristne Kvinders Vælgerforening (Christian Women Voters Association). In 1924, she was recognized as an honorary member of the Women's Society's Copenhagen branch. Anne Bruun died in

Kalundborg Kalundborg () is a Danish city with a population of 16,211 (1 January 2022),1853 births 1934 deaths People from Varde Municipality Danish schoolteachers Danish women educators Danish women's rights activists Danish suffragists Danish magazine editors Danish women writers