Cécile Brunschvicg (), born Cécile Kahn (19 July 1877 in

Enghien-les-Bains Enghien-les-Bains () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the département of Val-d'Oise. Enghien-les-Bains is famous as a spa resort and a well-to-do suburb of Paris, developed in ...

– 5 October 1946 in Neuilly-sur-Seine), was a French feminist politician. From the 1920s until her death she was regarded as "the ''grande dame'' of the

feminist movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such ...

" in France. She was born into a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

middle-class,

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

family. Her familial environment was not inclined to let women study, especially not when they were over 17. Already a "liberated" woman (for the time), it was her meeting, and subsequent marriage to,

Léon Brunschvicg Léon Brunschvicg (; 10 November 1869 – 18 January 1944) was a French Idealist philosopher. He co-founded the ''Revue de métaphysique et de morale'' with Xavier Leon and Élie Halévy in 1893. Life He was born into a Jewish family. From ...

, a feminist philosopher and member of the

Ligue des droits de l'homme The Human Rights League (french: Ligue des droits de l’homme ''t du citoyen' or LDH) of France is a Human Rights NGO association to observe, defend and promulgation of Rights Man within the French Republic in all spheres of public life. The ...

, that spurred her to feminist activism; she became vice-president of the League of Electors for women's suffrage. The French Union for Women's Suffrage (UFSF: ''Union française pour le suffrage des femmes'') was founded by a group of feminists who had attended a national congress of French feminists in Paris in 1908, led by Jeanne Schmahl and

Jane Misme Jane Misme (1865–1935) was a French journalist and feminist. She founded the feminist journal ''La Française'' (The Frenchwoman), published from 1906 to 1934, and was a member of the executive of the French Union for Women's Suffrage and the ...

. The UFSF provided a less militant and more widely acceptable alternative to the ''Suffrage des femmes'' of

Hubertine Auclert Hubertine Auclert (; 10 April 1848 – 4 August 1914) was a leading French feminist and a campaigner for women's suffrage. Early life Born in the Allier ''département'' in the Auvergne area of France into a middle-class family, Hubertine Aucl ...

(1848–1914). The sole objective was to obtain women's suffrage through legal approaches. The founding meeting of 300 women was held in February 1909. Cécile Brunschvicg was made secretary-general. Schmahl was the first president. Eliska Vincent accepted the position of honorary vice-president. The UFSF was formally recognized by the

International Woman Suffrage Alliance The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...

(IWFA) congress in London in April 1909 as representing the French suffrage movement. Cécile Brunschvicg was named Undersecretary of State for national education in the first Léon Blum government.

Notes

Sources

* * * *
Biography at the University of Angers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunschvicg, Cecile 1877 births 1946 deaths Jewish feminists People from Enghien-les-Bains 20th-century French Jews Radical Party (France) politicians French feminists Secretaries of State of France French women in World War I French suffragists Women government ministers of France 20th-century French politicians 20th-century French women politicians Jewish suffragists