Johanne Marie Abrahammine Meyer née Petersen (1838–1915) was a Danish

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 ...

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

and journal editor. A pioneering member of various women's societies, from 1889 she served on the board of the pacifist organization '' Dansk Fredsforening'' and became the influential president of the progressive suffragist organization '' Kvindelig Fremskridtsforening (KF)''. From 1888, Meyer was editor of KF's journal ''Hvad vi vil'' (What We Want), to which she contributed many articles.

Biography

Born on 1 July 1838 in

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

, Johanne Marie Abrahammine Petersen was the daughter of the customs officer Lauritz Petersen (1802–1856) and Sophie Frederikke Lundberg (1799–c.1863). In 1858, she married Emil Lauritz Meyer (1833–1917), a Jewish merchant who converted to Christianity. After living in

Nyborg Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,525 (2022). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...

until 1867, the couple moved to

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 ...

where her husband became a licensed retailer and she ran a small private school. In 1885, she began writing articles on English pacifism for the political journal ''Social-Demokraten''. As a result of the women's strike at Ruben's textile factory in 1886, she became a committed socialist, supporting equal rights for women and universal suffrage. In July 1888 at the Nordic Women's Meeting (''Nordiske Kvindesagsmøde'') held in Copenhagen, she campaigned energetically for

women's voting rights 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 ...

. It had been convened by the ''Kvindelig Fremskridtsforening'' (KF, Women's Progressive Society) where she was president from 1889, defining the organization's objectives. She also edited the women's movement's journal ''Hvad vi vil'', becoming its most productive contributor. In 1889, together with

Louise Nørlund Marie Sørine ''Louise'' Nørlund (1854–1919) was a Danish feminist and pacifist. She was the founder and chairman of the Danske Kvindeforeningers Valgretsforbund or DKV (the Danish Women's Society's Suffrage Union) in 1898–1907 and 1908–1 ...

and

Line Luplau Line Luplau (1823–1891) was a Danish feminist and suffragist. She was the co-founder of the Danske Kvindeforeningers Valgretsforbund or DKV (Danish Women's Society Suffrage Union) and first chairperson in 1889-1891. Life Line Luplau was born o ...

, she founded ''

Kvindevalgretsforeningen Kvindevalgretsforeningen (KVF), or the Women's Suffrage Association, was a Danish organization established by Line Luplau in 1889 specifically to promote women's suffrage. The association not only organized meetings on voting rights but participat ...

'' (KVF) which was set on achieving voting rights for women. From the early 1890s, she became increasingly involved in pacifism, becoming the vice-president of the Danish peace society, ''Fredsforeningen''. She continued to push for women's voting rights both in the KVF and by giving a considerable number of lectures. In 1911, she attended the

Universal Race Congress The First Universal Races Congress met in 1911 for four days at the University of London as an early effort at anti-racism. Speakers from a number of countries discussed race relations and how to improve them. The congress, with 2,100 attendees, ...

as the delegate of the Peace Society of Copenhagen. In later life she became increasingly religious, founding the

Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century CE ...

of Denmark. Johanne Meyer died in the Copenhagen district of

Frederiksberg Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is formally an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the City of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of ...

on 4 February 1915.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyer, Johanne 1838 births 1915 deaths Danish women editors Danish feminists Danish pacifists Pacifist feminists Danish suffragists Danish women in politics 19th-century Danish women writers Danish women's rights activists Politicians from Aalborg Socialist feminists

Biography

See also

References

External links