The Fredrika Bremer Association ( sv, Fredrika Bremer Förbundet, abbreviated FBF) is the oldest

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, ...

organisation in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. The association stands for an inclusive,

intersectional Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of adv ...

and progressive

liberal feminism Liberal feminism, also called mainstream feminism, is a main branch of feminism defined by its focus on achieving gender equality through political and legal reform within the framework of liberal democracy. It is often considered culturally ...

, and advocates for women's rights and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

. It is traditionally the foremost organisation of the bourgeois-liberal women's movement in Sweden. It has always been open to both women and men. It is a member of the

International Alliance of Women The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...

, and is a sister association 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 Pea ...

, the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

and the Icelandic Women's Rights Association.

Activity

The FBF works with forming public opinion in favor of gender equality by information and activities, and by handing out money from various funds and scholarships. It collaborates with other organisations with similar goals both nationally and internationally. The FBF had a representative in the governmental council of equality.

History

The organisation was founded in 1884 by a group largely consisting of the board of the

women's magazine This is a list of women's magazines from around the world. These are magazines that have been published primarily for a readership of women. Currently published *'' 10 Magazine'' (UK - distributed worldwide) *'' Al Jamila'' (Saudi Arabia) *''All ...

Home Review The ''Home Review'' ( sv, Tidskrift för hemmet) was a Sweden, Swedish women's magazine, published from 1859 to 1885. It was the first women's magazine in the Nordic countries and its inception is sometimes regarded as the foundation of Sweden's w ...

''. It consisted of the feminist

Sophie Adlersparre Carin ''Sophie'' Adlersparre, known under the pen-name Esselde (born Leijonhufvud; 6 July 1823 – 27 June 1895) was one of the pioneers of the 19th-century women's rights movement in Sweden. She was the founder and editor of the first women' ...

Ellen Anckarsvärd Anna Lovisa Eleonora "Ellen" Anckarsvärd née ''Nyström'' (10 December 1833 – 8 December 1898), was a Swedish women's rights activist. She was the co-founder and secretary of the Married Woman's Property Rights Association (1873), co-founder a ...

Fredrika Limnell Catharina Fredrika Limnell née Forssberg (14 July 1816 – 12 September 1897), was a Swedish people, Swedish philanthropist, mecenate, feminist and salon (gathering), salonist. Private life Fredrika Forssberg was born in Härnösand Municipalit ...

Ellen Fries Ellen Fries (23 September 1855 – 31 March 1900) was a Swedish feminist and writer. She became the first female Ph.D. in Sweden in 1883. She was also involved in founding several women's organizations. Biography She born in 1855 at Rödsleg� ...

Hans Hildebrand Hans Olof Hildebrand Hildebrand (5 April 1842 – 2 February 1913) was a Swedish archeologist. He is internationally known as one of the pioneers of the archaeological technique of typology. Biography Born in Stockholm, he was the son of Bror E ...

and G. Sjöberg. It was named in honor of the Swedish novelist

Fredrika Bremer Fredrika Bremer (17 August 1801 – 31 December 1865) was a Finnish-born Swedish writer and feminist reformer. Her ''Sketches of Everyday Life'' were wildly popular in Britain and the United States during the 1840s and 1850s and she is re ...

, whose novel ''Hertha'' was responsible for the legislation emancipating unmarried women from wardship of their male relatives. It also led to the foundation of

Gothenburg's Women's Association Gothenburg Women's Association ( sv, Göteborgs Kvinnoförening) was the first women's organisation active in Gothenburg, Sweden's second largest city. It was active from 1884 to 1891. It published the radical magazine '' Framåt'' (Forward). Gö ...

in Sweden's second city of

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, which was founded as a local answer to the FBF. The purpose of the organisation was to support women's rights, to inform women of their rights and to encourage them to use them. At the time of its foundation, for example, the focus was to inform women of their rights to serve in the boards of public institutions, and of the rights of women of a certain income to vote in municipal elections and to use those rights. By 1890, the office of the organisation in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

functioned as an employment agency for women of the middle classes, and offered juridical, economical and medical information and advice to women. It was also noted at that time, that many women came there to be informed of the movement for

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 1899, a delegation from the FBF presented a suggestion of woman suffrage to prime minister

Erik Gustaf Boström Erik Gustaf Bernhard Boström (11 February 1842 – 21 February 1907) was a Swedish landowner and politician who was a member of the Swedish Parliament (1876–1907) and the longest-serving Prime Minister of Sweden of the 19th century. He ...

. The delegation was headed by

Agda Montelius Agda Georgina Dorothea Alexandra Montelius née ''Reuterskiöld'' (23 April 1850 – 27 October 1920) was a Swedish philanthropist and feminist. She was a leading figure of the Swedish philanthropy, active for the struggle of women's suffrage, a ...

, accompanied by

Gertrud Adelborg Gertrud Virginia Adelborg (10 September 1853 in Karlskrona – 25 January 1942) was a Swedish teacher, feminist and leading member of the women's rights movement. Biography Gertrud Adelborg was born at Karlskrona in Blekinge County, Sweden. She ...

, who had written the demand. This was the first time the Swedish women's movement themselves had officially presented a demand for suffrage. In 1890, the '' Svenska drägtreformföreningen'' became a part of the FBA, and in 1896, the Married Woman Property Association was merged in the association. It is a member of the

, which has

general consultative status The consultative status is a phrase whose use can be traced to the founding of the United Nations and is used within the UN community to refer to "Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Soc ...

with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

ECOSOC The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC; french: links=no, Conseil économique et social des Nations unies, ) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations, responsible for coordinating the economic and social fields ...

. It was also a member of the Joint Organization of Nordic Women's Rights Associations.

Publications

The FBF published the

Dagny Dagny () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Population Geography The river Aubetin flows northwestward through the commune. See also * Communes of the Seine-et-Marne departme ...

'', which succeeded Adlersparre's ''

'' in 1886. This publication was renamed '' Hertha'' in 1914 and was the oldest women's magazine in the world when it was discontinued in the late 1990s.

Presidents

*1884–1903:

*1903–1920:

*1920–1937: Lizinka Dyrssen *1937–1949:

Hanna Rydh Hanna Albertina Rydh (12 February 1891 – 29 June 1964) was a Swedish archaeologist and politician for the Liberal People's Party (Sweden), Liberal People's Party. She served as a Member of Parliament in the Riksdag from 1943 to 1944 and was the ...

*1949–1958: Elsa Ewerlöf *1958–1959: Elin Lauritzen *1959–1961: Inger Leijonhufvud *1961–1967: Anna-Greta Hybbinette *1967–1970: Astrid Schönberg *1970–1976:

Karin Ahrland Karin Margareta Ahrland, née ''Andersson'' (20 July 1931 – 30 August 2019) was a Swedish politician, diplomat, lawyer, and activist. She was a member of the parliament of Sweden ('' Riksdag'') from 1976–1989. She served as the Minister of H ...

*1976–1982: Birgitta Wistrand *1982–1985: Monica Påhlsson *1985–1989: Gerd Forssell *1989–1990: Ann Egefalk *1990–1991: Eivor Lilja *1991–1997: Inge Garstedt *1997–2000: Anna-Karin Sjöstrand *2000–2004: Irene Rundberg *2004–2008: Ann Falkinger *2008–2013: Birgitta Wistrand *2013–2018: Louise Lindfors *2018–2019: Ulrika Kärnborg (Christina Knight, acting) *2020–: Camilla Wagner

References

* Stig Hadenius, Torbjörn Nilsson & Gunnar Åselius : ''Sveriges historia. Vad varje svensk bör veta'' (History of Sweden. What every Swede should know)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fredrika Bremer Forbundet Liberal feminist organizations 1884 establishments in Sweden Feminism and history Feminist organizations in Sweden Organizations based in Stockholm Organizations established in 1884 Social history of Sweden Voter rights and suffrage organizations Women's suffrage in Sweden