Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin (1826–1899), was a pioneer in the women's rights movement and women's peace movement in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
. She has been called the first feminist in Switzerland. In 1868, she founded ''
Association internationale des femmes'' (IAW), which was not only the first women's organisation in Switzerland, but also the first international women's organisation. She was a central figure in the continental activism for women's equal rights and better education.
Life
Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin was born in
Geneva. After elementary education, she worked in the shop of her father, who was a clock maker. She married in 1845 and divorced in 1856. She married secondly to the exiled German revolutionary
Amand Goegg, and lived in
London with him for a while before returning to Switzerland. The couple separated in 1874 but never divorced.
In 1867, she attended the congress of the newly founded ''
International League for Peace and Freedom
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is a non-profit non-governmental organization working "to bring together women of different political views and philosophical and religious backgrounds determined to study and make kno ...
'' (ILPF) in Geneva. Disappointed in the lack of female participation within it, she founded the ''
Association internationale des femmes'' (IAW) the following year. At the ILPF congress in Bern 1868, she made a public speech on women's rights. At the same congress, the first meeting of the IAW was held, followed by the first congress in 1870. This was the first international collaboration of women's rights groups, predating the introduction of the
International Council of Women in 1888, uniting groups who worked for women's access to education, access to public sphere and abolition of regulated prostitution. The IAW was closely affiliated with the ILPF, who added women's rights to its demands. Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin stated that the participation of women in the public sphere was vital for the ILPF.s peace goal, which was a successful statement with the ILPF. She also supported
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 ...
.
In 1871, the IAW was discredited because of its affiliation with the Paris Commune, and Marie Goegg-Pouchoulin stepped down from her involvement in it. After this, she focused on women's rights within Switzerland in particular. In 1872, she founded the ''
Association pour la défense de la Femme av droit
Association pour la défense de la Femme av droit, commonly known as Solidarité, was a women's organization in Switzerland, founded in 1872. Berta Rahm: Marie Goegg (geb. Pouchoulin). Mitbegründerin der Internationalen Liga für Frieden und Frei ...
'' (or Solidarité), where she worked alongside another pioneer of the Swiss women's rights movement,
Julie von May (von Rued)
Julie von May (von Rued) (26 February 1808 – 5 March 1875), was a Swiss feminist. In 1868, she became the chairperson of the first women's organisation in Switzerland: ''Association Internationale des Femmes''. She supported women suffrage, but ...
. After a campaign initiated by Goegg-Pouchoulin, women were given access to the
University of Geneva in 1872. Between 1875 and 1880, she served as chairperson of the Solidarité. She participated in the campaign to reform the civil code. In 1880, the Solidarité was dissolved. In 1886, she was elected to the board of the
International Abolitionist Federation
The International Abolitionist Federation (IAF; french: Fédération abolitioniste internationale), founded in Liverpool in 1875, aimed to abolish state regulation of prostitution and fought the international traffic in women in prostitution. I ...
. In 1891, she was elected vice president of the newly founded ''
Union des femmes de Genève
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
''.
References
*
Helen Rappaport, ''Encyclopedia of Women Social Reformers'' - Volume 1 2001
* Regula Ludi: Goegg (-Pouchoulin), Marie im Historischen Lexikon der Schweiz
* Berta Rahm: Marie Goegg (geb. Pouchoulin). Mitbegründerin der Internationalen Liga für Frieden und Freiheit, Gründerin des Internationalen Frauenbundes, des Journal des femmes und der Solidarité. Ala, Schaffhausen 1993, .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goegg-Pouchoulin, Marie
1826 births
1899 deaths
Swiss suffragists
Swiss women's rights activists
19th-century Swiss women
Politicians from Geneva