Johanne Kirstine Andersen née Christiansen (1862–1925) 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. In 1908, she co-founded and subsequently headed the Balslev-Ejby branch 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 ...

in the north-west of the island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

. Two years later, she became a member of the national organization's joint management board, serving as deputy chair from 1919 until her retirement in 1922. She was particularly active in promoting the interests of women from rural communities and encouraging women's involvement in household planning and in running school canteens. Politically, after Danish women obtained voting rights in 1915, she joined the Venstre party but did not succeed in being elected to the

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...

in the 1918 elections.

Biography

Born on 7 October 1862 in Balslev Parish in the northwestern Funen, Johanne Kirstine Andersen was the daughter of the farmer Hans Christiansen (1829–1902) and his wife Maren née Jørgensdatter (1827–1872). In May 1897, she married the farmer Anders Jensen Andersen (1858–1936), with whom she had two children: Sigurd (1898) and Ingefred (1899). While at the Vældegarrd Women's School in Gentofte, thanks to a talk by Astrid Stampe she became interested in the women's movement. After working for a number of years as a teacher, in 1897 she married and returned to her farm in Balslev. She received her husband's support and encouragement to serve the local community where she opened an orphanage, served in the school commission and the farmers' association. In 1908, Andersen co-founded the Balslev-Ejby branch of the Danish Women's Society. As chair, she promoted the fight for

women's suffrage 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 ...

and the participation of women in the municipal elections in 1909. From 1910, she served on the central board of the Women's Society, becoming deputy chairman until her retirement in 1922. Representing the Venstre party, she took part in the national elections in 1918 but was elected only to the Landsting. Johanne Andersen died in her Balslev home on 10 October 1925.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andersen, Johanne 1862 births 1925 deaths People from Middelfart Municipality Danish women's rights activists Venstre (Denmark) politicians