Declaration of the Rights of Woman, 1791: Declaration of the Rights of Woman, List 2

The full title of this declaration includes a focus on citizenship, and it was published two years after the declaration of rights for men and immediately after the National Assembly of France rejected a proposal to extend the rights to women. With an ironic tone, the writer and activist Olympe de Gouges dedicated it to Marie Antoinette, who — as a woman — was not seen as an equal. And, as a queen, she did nothing to promote gender equality (yet she was eventually given a trial and death sentence equal to that of King Louis XVI). While a postscript and form for a social contract are also included, the main structure and contents of this declaration parallel and parody its male counterpart.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. dignity
    high office or rank or station
    All citizenesses and citizens, being equal in its eyes, should be equally admissible to all public dignities, offices and employments, according to their ability, and with no other distinction than that of their virtues and talents.
  2. exempt
    freed from or not subject to an obligation or liability
    7. No woman is exempted; she is indicted, arrested, and detained in the cases determined by the law.
  3. promulgate
    put a law into effect by formal declaration
    8. Only strictly and obviously necessary punishments should be established by the law, and no one may be punished except by virtue of a law established and promulgated before the time of the offense, and legally applied to women.
  4. rigor
    the quality of being strictly valid
    9. Any woman being declared guilty, all rigor is exercised by the law.
  5. rostrum
    a platform raised above the surrounding level
    10. No one should be disturbed for his fundamental opinions; woman has the right to mount the scaffold, so she should have the right equally to mount the rostrum, provided that these manifestations do not trouble public order as established by law.
  6. recognition
    the state or quality of being acknowledged
    11. The free communication of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious of the rights of woman, since this liberty assures the recognition of children by their fathers.
  7. barbarous
    able or disposed to inflict pain or suffering
    Every citizeness may therefore say freely, I am the mother of your child; a barbarous prejudice [against unmarried women having children] should not force her to hide the truth, so long as responsibility is accepted for any abuse of this liberty in cases determined by the law [women are not allowed to lie about the paternity of their children].
  8. safeguard
    a precautionary measure warding off impending danger
    12. The safeguard of the rights of woman and the citizeness requires public powers.
  9. maintenance
    activity involved in keeping something in good working order
    13. For maintenance of public authority and for expenses of administration, taxation of women and men is equal; she takes part in all forced labor service, in all painful tasks; she must therefore have the same proportion in the distribution of places, employments, offices, dignities, and in industry.
  10. necessity
    the condition of being essential or indispensable
    14. The citizenesses and citizens have the right, by themselves or through their representatives, to have demonstrated to them the necessity of public taxes.
Created on Tue Jun 03 12:17:50 EDT 2025 (updated Tue Jun 03 12:21:11 EDT 2025)

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