The Ligue Française pour le Droit des Femmes (LFDF, French League for Women's Rights) was a women's rights organisation active in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

from 1882. The LFDF was founded by

Maria Deraismes Maria Deraismes (17 August 1828 – 6 February 1894) was a French author, Freemason, and major pioneering force for women's rights. Biography Born in Paris, France, Paris, Maria Deraismes grew up in Pontoise in the city's northwest outsk ...

, one of the leading feminists in France of the time. Deraismes had previously been active in the

Association pour le Droit des Femmes Association pour le Droit des Femmes was a French women's rights organization, founded by Maria Deraismes and Léon Richer in 1870.Charles Sowerwine: France since 1870: Culture, Society and the Making of the Republic, 2009 It was the first women's ...

, which she had co-founded with

Léon Richer Léon-Pierre Richer (1824 – 25 June 1911) was a French free-thinker, freemason, journalist and feminist who worked closely with Maria Deraismes during the early years of the feminist movement in Paris. He edited '' Le Droit des femmes'' (''Women ...

in 1870, but in 1882, Deraismes and Richier differed in regard to the

women 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 ...

issue. While Richier still maintained the view that women should not be given the vote before they no longer favored the Catholic church so much that women suffrage would result in a backlash of a progressive development of society, Maria Deraismes, who previously shared this view, took the stand that women should be given the vote in order to be more progressive than their present state allowed, rather than the other way around. Deraismes therefore left the Association pour le Droit des Femmes and founded the LFDF. Eventually, the split resulted in Richiers association being replaced by LFDF as a leading women's movement in France. Deraismes and Richer both arranged several congresses as leaders of their respective associations. After the death of Deraismes in 1894, the LFDF became a leading feminist force in France and issued a strong campaign from women suffrage. It arranged a women's rights congress in 1896 and three in 1900, making resolutions in support of complete equality between the sexes.

References

* Uglow, Jennifer S. & Hendry, Maggy, The Macmillan dictionary of women's biography, 3. ed., Papermac, London, 1999 * Charles Sowerwine: France since 1870: Culture, Society and the Making of the Republic, 2009 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ligue Francaise pour le Droit des Femmes Feminist organizations in France Women's rights organizations 1882 establishments in France Women's organizations based in France Organizations established in 1882 Voter rights and suffrage organizations