Maria Vérone (1874–1938) was a
French feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
and
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 vo ...
. A free-thinker,
she was the president of the ''
Ligue Française pour le Droit des Femmes
The Catholic League of France (), sometimes referred to by contemporary (and modern) Catholics as the Holy League (), was a major participant in the French Wars of Religion. The League, founded and led by Henry I, Duke of Guise, intended the erad ...
'' (French League for Women's Rights) or LFDF, from 1919 to 1938.
Life
Vérone was born on June 20, 1874, in Paris, France.
She served as secretary at the International Congress of
Freethinkers
Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an unorthodox attitude or belief.
A freethinker holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority
Authority is commonly understood as the legitimate power of a person or ...
when she was 15 years old. In 1903 she became the first woman to plead before French appeals court.
She supported herself as a teacher, but was dismissed for her political opinions and unionizing activities.
Vérone became a reporter for the French feminist newspaper
La Fronde, which was published by
Marguerite Durand
Marguerite Durand (24 January 1864 – 16 March 1936) was a French stage actress, journalist, and a leading suffragette. She founded her own newspaper, and ran for election. She is also known for having a pet lion. The Bibliothèque Margueri ...
.
Her journalism on legal and judicial matters led to her interest in becoming a lawyer. In 1907 Vérone, a single mother of two, was admitted to the French bar.
Vérone served as president of
Ligue Française pour le Droit des Femmes
The Catholic League of France (), sometimes referred to by contemporary (and modern) Catholics as the Holy League (), was a major participant in the French Wars of Religion. The League, founded and led by Henry I, Duke of Guise, intended the erad ...
for 20 years.
Vérone died on May 24, 1938, in Paris.
See also
*
First women lawyers around the world
This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in each country. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achieve a certain distinction su ...
*
List of suffragists and suffragettes
This list of suffragists and suffragettes includes noted individuals active in the worldwide women's suffrage movement who have campaigned or strongly advocated for women's suffrage, the organisations which they formed or joined, and the publi ...
Notes
Sources
Bibliography
* Christine Bard. ''Les filles de Marianne : histoire des féminismes 1914–1940.'' Paris : Fayard, 1995.
* Laurence Klejman and Florence Rochefort. « Vérone (Maria), 1874–1938 », ''Dictionnaire des intellectuals français,'' Jacques Juillard and Michel Winock, ed. Paris : Seuil, 1996.
* Raymond Hesse & Lionel Nastorg, ''Leur manière...: plaidoiries à la façon de... Raymond Poincaré, Maria Vérone, etc.'', B. Grasset, Paris, 1925, 212 p.
* Sara L. Kimble, « No Right to Judge : Feminism and the Judiciary in Third Republic France. » ''French Historical Studies'' 31, no. 4 (2008): 609–641. https://www.academia.edu/307609 https://depaul.academia.edu/SaraKimble
* Sara L. Kimble, « Popular Legal Journalism in the Writings of Maria Vérone. » PWSFH Volume 39, 2011 http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.0642292.0039.021
*
Juliette Rennes, ''Le mérite et la nature : une controverse républicaine, l'accès des femmes aux professions de prestige, 1880–1940'', Fayard, 2007, 594 p.
External links
Maria Vérone : « Pourquoi les femmes veulent voter »(conférence du 24 avril 1914, avec une courte biographie)
(délibération du Conseil Municipal du 18ème arrondissement de Paris en janvier 2010)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verone, Maria
1874 births
1938 deaths
French suffragists
French feminists
French socialist feminists
20th-century French women
19th-century feminists