By Paula Iudica

“Man, are you capable of being fair? A woman asks you this question, at least you will not take away that right. Tell me, who has given you the sovereign power to oppress my sex?

Olympe de Gouges*.

The eighteenth century was marked by important events that have had an enormous impact on Western history. The French Revolution in 1789 marks the beginning of the Contemporary Age by laying the foundations of modern democracy. The end of the Old Regime, the end of absolutism, that semi-romantic image that we have of the people doing justice, equality, freedom, democracy- the power exercised by the people, utopian concepts that seemed to have come true with the revolution.

The illustration, philosophical spirit of the time, sought to overcome humanity's ignorance through the lights of knowledge and reason. But it was half enlightened, because when they drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen they did not include women, that is, half of the population. Of course, that was not taught to us.

However, women actively participated in the French Revolution, they were politicized. So much so that they founded the Women's Society for the Revolutionary Republic to demand public office (which they would occupy as magistrates, soldiers, and legislators) and the right to take up arms.

One of them was Olympe de Gouges, who was aware that women had fought for a revolution that finally excluded them. She then drafted the Declaration of the Rights of Women and the Citizen in 1791, which represents one of the first texts proposing female emancipation, equal rights and legal equality. Olympe was a writer, feminist and political activist. In his writings, he called for the abolition of slavery, denounced the marriage of girls, demanded equal rights for all citizens regardless of their sex, skin color or income, denounced the death penalty, demanded the right to vote and demanded the right to divorce. She developed social reform programs for representatives of the legislature and founded fraternal societies for both sexes.

It all happened very fast. In 1793 the French Constitution denied them their rights. He prohibited them from meeting in political associations, carrying weapons and speaking before the legislature. That same year Olympe de Gouges was arrested for her defense of the Girondins, summarily tried and guillotined.

Why don't they teach us this? We have been erased from history, and it is necessary to understand the intention behind it. How to learn from the unknown? How many other stories do we not know? What are the concepts we take for granted? It is clear that it is not enough to talk about freedom and equality, it is necessary to put them into practice, to make them a reality. Who make the decisions? What rights do we think we are guaranteed today? Not all, and that is why the women's movement fights year after year, claiming the rights we have achieved and demanding those we still lack. There is no equality if there is no gender equality. There is no freedom if there are women with children trapped in a home where there is violence. The Revolution did not revolutionize anything: half the population continued to be subject to the absolutist power of men. We know that, in many of its forms, this subjugation continues to this day. It is enough to read the motto (still valid) of the French Republic: freedom, equality, fraternity... fraternity is solidarity, companionship between brothers (frater)... men. and the women? Much later the term sorority arose, the solidarity between women, sisters (soror).

Soon a year ends and a new one begins. A new cycle. A good time to unlearn and relearn with a new perspective. The rights that have been denied to us throughout history are costing us, currently only in our country, almost one femicide per day per year. Hundreds of childhoods crossed by mistreatment and abuse. The figures worldwide are scary. It is worth mentioning again that 1 in 3 women in the world is a victim of gender violence. Physical, psychological, sexual, labor, institutional, and economic violence that is often not reported, due to fear, shame, guilt, lack of information, or lack of support. When women report they are often revictimized by institutions that look the other way and protect those who perpetrate violence and by a society that turns a deaf ear to this reality that surrounds us every day.

Knowing the history, our history, knowing what were the events that led us to the world of today is necessary to move forward. Knowing our rights and defending them, those that are in the law and are not fulfilled and those that we have not yet acquired, is our duty. Let's keep fighting, and being active protagonists of our history