Calypso Botez (1880–1933), was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n writer,

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

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.

Life

Botez was born in 1880 in

Bacău Bacău ( , , ; hu, Bákó; la, Bacovia) is the main city in Bacău County, Romania. At the 2016 national estimation it had a population of 196,883, making it the 12th largest city in Romania. The city is situated in the historical region of ...

. She graduated from the University of Iasi. Botez then lived in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

where she taught at a secondary school although she was also inspecting other schools. She became the President of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

Galati Galati may refer to: * Galati Mamertino, municipality in the Metropolitan City of Messina in Sicily, Italy * Galați County, in Moldavia region of Romania * Galati (surname) Galati is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Frank Gal ...

. In 1917 she was a co-founder, with Maria Baiulescu, Ella Negruzzi and

Elena Meissner Elena Meissner also called Elena Buznea-Meissner, (born Elena Buznea; 1867–1940) was a Romanian feminist and suffragist. She was the co-founder of the Romanian women's movement organisation '' Asociația de Emancipare Civilă și Politică a Fem ...

, of Asociația de Emancipare Civilă și Politică a Femeii Române or the Romanian Women's Union (UFR). She wrote about women's rights highlighting that the Romanian constitution's first article held that all citizens were equal. In 1919 she published ''The Problem of the Rights of the Romanian Woman''. She campaigned for reform of the powers of the government, women's rights and divorce law reform. In 1920 she published ''The Problem of Feminism. A Systematization of Its Elements. ''She co-founded the Consiliul Naţional al Femeilor Române in 1921''.''

Other works

* ''Women's Rights in the Future Constitution'' (1922) * ''Women's Rights in the Future of the Civil Code'' (1924) * ''Report on the Legal Situation of Women'' (1932)

References

* George Marcu (coord.), Dicţionarul personalităţilor feminine din România, Editura Meronia, București, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Botez, Calypso 1880 births 1933 deaths Romanian women's rights activists Romanian feminists Romanian suffragists 19th-century Romanian people 19th-century Romanian writers