The Association internationale des femmes (AIF; International Association of Women) was a short-lived feminist and pacifist organization based in Geneva that was active between 1868 and 1872. It demanded full equality between men and women. This was too radical for many feminists at the time.

Foundation

The origins of the association may perhaps be traced to the 1854 proposal by the Swedish feminist

Fredrika Bremer Fredrika Bremer (17 August 1801 – 31 December 1865) was a Finland, Finnish-born Sweden and Norway, Swedish Swedish literature, writer and feminism in Sweden, feminist reformer. Her ''Sketches of Everyday Life'' were wildly popular in Bri ...

for a women-only organization dedicated to peace. The Swiss feminist

Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin (1826–1899), was a pioneer in the women's rights movement and women's peace movement in Switzerland. She has been called the first feminist in Switzerland. In 1868, she founded ''Association internationale des femmes'' (IA ...

(1826–99) was active in the International Peace and Freedom League when it was founded in 1867, became a member of its central committee and edited the league's journal ''Les États-Unis d'Europe''. On 8 March 1868 the journal published Goegg's proposal to create an international association of women in connection with the league. This became the Association Internationale des Femmes (AIF). Foundation of the AIF and of

Eugénie Niboyet Eugénie Mouchon-Niboyet (September 10, 1796 – January 6, 1883) was a French author, journalist and early feminist. She is best known for founding '' La Voix des Femmes'' (''The Women's Voice''), the first feminist daily newspaper in France. Sh ...

's feminist and pacifist weekly ''La Paix des Deux Mondes'' mark the start of identification by women with peace work. According to the historian Sandi Cooper, Goegg was responding to the growing militarism of Prussia and aimed for, "the re-education of mothers to prevent another generation of boys trained to respect the false idols of national glory through military conquest. The AIF was the first transnational women's organization. It was concerned with women's suffrage and with secular education. The association demanded "equality in salary, in instruction, in the family, and in the law". An AIF membership card issued to

Matilde Bajer Pauline Matilde Theodora Bajer (4 January 1840 – 4 March 1934) was a Danish women's rights activist and pacifist. Life Pauline Matilde Theodora Schlüter was born on 4 January 1840 in Frederikseg, Herlufmagle Sogn, Næstved Municipality, Denma ...

of Copenhagen in December 1870 states that its goals were, "To work for the moral and intellectual advancement of woman, for the gradual amelioration of her position in society by calling for her human, civil, economic and political rights."

History

The association's position was too extreme for many middle-class women, so the number of members remained relatively small. The association's activities were disrupted by the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, but it was revived by Goegg at the end of 1870. The organization received international coverage in pacifist and feminist publications, such as the journal ''Woman'', edited and published in Italy by

Alaide Gualberta Beccari Alaide Gualberta Beccari (born 1842 in Padua – died 1906) was an Italian feminist, republican, pacifist, and social reformer, who published the feminist journal ''Woman'' during the 1870s and 1880s. Biography Alaide Beccari was born in Padua in ...

. However, the association failed to develop a strong organizational foundation. By 1872 the AIF was viewed with suspicion, since the word "International" was associated with the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

. Members were also divided over Goegg's leadership. In June 1872 a communique was issued that called for a meeting at the home of Julie von May von Rued in Bern to organize a new association called Solidarité: Association pour la défense des droits de la femme (Solidarity: Association for the Defense of Women's Rights). Signatories included

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of France,

Josephine Butler Josephine Elizabeth Butler (' Grey; 13 April 1828 – 30 December 1906) was an English feminist and social reformer in the Victorian era. She campaigned for women's suffrage, the right of women to better education, the end of coverture ...

of England, Christine Lazzati of Milan and the German feminists Rosalie Schönwasser,

Marianne Menzzer Marianne Menzzer (25 November 1814 – 5 June 1895) was a German feminist who used statistics to demonstrate discrimination against women in the workplace. Life Marianne Menzzer was born on 25 November 1814. As was the case with many activist fe ...

and Julie Kühne. Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin was also active in this organization.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Association internationale des femmes Feminist organisations in Switzerland Women's rights organizations Former international organizations Pacifist feminism Peace organisations based in Switzerland Organizations established in 1868 Organizations disestablished in 1872 Organisations based in Geneva 1868 establishments in Switzerland 1872 disestablishments