Pauline Rebour (1878-1956) was a French academic noted for her works as a

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and suffragist. She was the founder of Feminist Society of Le Havre and was a member of the

French Union for Women's Suffrage The French Union for Women's Suffrage (UFSF: french: italic=no, Union française pour le suffrage des femmes) was a French feminist organization formed in 1909 that fought for the right of women to vote, which was eventually granted in 1945. The Un ...

(1914), and the Secular and Democratic Action of Women (1935).

Biography

Rebour was born December 1878 in

Mortain, France Mortain () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mortain-Bocage. Geography Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the ...

to Théophile Boyenval, a school teacher and college administrator, and Alice Harel. Her family was affluent, allowing her to obtain higher education. This environment is said to be a characteristic of female teachers of public education in France during Rebour's time. Rebour obtained a degree in law and was identified as a lawyer during her tenure at the French Union for Women's Suffrage as part of its central committee.Hause, Steven & Kenney, Anne. (1981). The Limits of Suffragist Behavior: Legalism and Militancy in France, 1876-1922. ''The American Historical Review,'' ''86''(4), 781-806. Her contemporaries include

Jeanne Chauvin Jeanne Chauvin (22 April 1862 – 7 September 1926) was the second woman to obtain a degree in law in France, in 1890. Her application to be sworn in as a lawyer was at first rejected, but after the law was changed in 1900 she was the second French ...

Olga Petit Olga Petit or Sophie Balachowsky-Petit (16 March 1870 – 1966) was a Russian-born, French lawyer. She is noted as the first woman to take the legal oath in France. She is also known for assisting Russian emigres settling in the country after the ...

Suzanne Grinberg Suzanne Grinberg ( 25 January 1888 - 5 July 1972) was a pioneering French lawyer, feminist and pacifist. She was one of the women who participated in the Inter-Allied Women's Conference which opened in Paris in February 1919. In 1920, she was vi ...

, and Marcelle Kraemer-Bach.

Activism

Rebour's activism during her tenure at the Feminist Society of Le Havre was credited for forcing Le Havre to provide female teachers the same allowance received by their male colleagues. As part of her co-education campaigns, she also promoted teaching young girls along with boys at home. Her works for the ''Federation Feministe Universitaire'' also contributed in achieving equal treatment for female teachers in France. Rebour was also active in promoting women's interest in politics. In late 1912, she was one of the voices who attacked the exclusion of women in the selection of a French ministry's 250 members. In response to the claim that women did not need political rights since they exert influence at home, she wrote in '' La Francaise'' that the exclusion from the commission with emphasis on motherhood and children exposed the argument's flaw. She also headed the suffrage section of the CNFF with the support of her husband, Raoul, who was a high ranking civil servant. Rebour, however, had proposed radical feminist ideas that were different compared to those advanced by her peers. She had cautioned against excessively feminizing education, arguing that it did not advance women's access to the vote or public roles reserved for men.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rebour, Pauline 1878 births 1956 deaths 20th-century French women lawyers 20th-century French lawyers French feminists 20th-century French writers 20th-century French women writers French women academics