Ester Henriette Carstensen née Hansen (10 August 1873–12 December 1955) was a Danish

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 and journal editor. She was one of the most active members 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 ...

(''Dansk kvindesamfund''), editing its journal from 1908 and becoming its vice-president in 1913. She later headed the Copenhagen chapter of the Women's Society.

Early life and education

Born on 10 August 1873 in

Skodsborg Skodsborg is a small town/suburb approx. 20 km. north of Copenhagen, Denmark. The town has a population of 1,269 (1 January 2022)

, Esther Henriette Hansen was the daughter of the merchant Harald Andreas Hansen (1835–1902) and Anna Georgiana Cécile de Jonquières (1847–1941). Raised in a well-to-do bourgeois home in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, she matriculated from

N. Zahle's School N. Zahle's School (Danish: N. Zahles Skole) is a private school located on Nørre Voldgade in Copenhagen, Denmark. Named after its founder, Natalie Zahle (1827–1913), it now consists of two independently run primary schools and a Gymnasium. Hi ...

in 1893. In 1897, she took the examination for the first part of the civil engineering programme of study at the

Polytechnical Institute An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of te ...

. She did not complete her studies as in 1898 she married Ivan Carstensen (1871–1949), an officer in the Life Guards.

Career

From an early age, like her cousin

Estrid Hein Estrid Hein (''née'' Hansen; 27 July 1873 – 25 July 1956) was a Danish ophthalmologist, women's rights activist and pacifist. She practised in Copenhagen from 1898, opening her own clinic in 1906. She was also a prominent figure in the women' ...

, Carstensen took a special interest in the status of women in the community. In 1906, she was a co-founder of ''Foreningen til Hjælp for enligtstillede'' (Association for Supporting Single Mothers) but went on to devote most of her time to the

. In 1907, she replaced

Astrid Stampe Feddersen Astrid Stampe Feddersen, usually known as Astrid Stampe, (1852–1930) was a Danish women's rights activist and author alongside her sister Rigmor Stampe Bendix. Stampe joined the women's movement early on and from 1883 to 1887, she was on the bo ...

as head of the society's voting rights committee but failed to persuade all the other women's organizations interested in voting rights to join the Women's Society. From then on, she became a leading member of the organization, serving as vice-president from 1913 to 1918. In addition, from 1908 to 1913, she edited the Society's journal ''

Kvinden & Samfundet ''Kvinden & Samfundet'' (''Woman & Society'') is a Danish feminist magazine and the official publication of the Danish Women's Society. It has been published since 1885. History The Danish Women's Society was founded in 1871 by Matilde Bajer ...

'', working with

Thora Daugaard Theodora (Thora) Frederikke Marie Daugaard (22 October 1874 – 28 June 1951) was a Danish women's rights activist, pacifist, editor and translator. In 1915, she attended the International Women's Conference in The Hague, together with Clara Tybj ...

as editing secretary. Not only did she display fine editing skills, she became an effective contributor to the journal herself. As local branches of the Women's Society were created, Carstensen headed the Copenhagen chapter from 1913 to 1918 and later from 1934 to 1944, when she was elected honorary president for life. On moving to Viborg with her husband, she headed the Society's Viborg chapter from 1928 to 1932. While Carstensen was involved in improving all aspects of women's rights, she was particularly concerned with the insecurity experienced by married women, given their lack of economic independence. An effect speaker and discussion leader, despite her aristocratic manner she was always ready to take up any aspect of work, including going out on the streets to distribute leaflets or sell the Society's marguerites. Esther Carstensen died on 12 December 1955 in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carstensen, Esther 1873 births 1955 deaths Danish feminists Danish suffragists Danish editors Danish women editors 20th-century Danish women writers People from Rudersdal Municipality Grut Hansen family