This petition was produced during the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

 and presented to the French National Assembly in November 1789 after The March on Versailles

The March on Versailles

The Women's March on Versailles, also known as The October March, The October Days, or simply The March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. The march began among women in the marketplaces of Paris who, on the morning of 5 October 1789, were...

 on 5 October 1789, proposing a decree by the National Assembly to give women equality

Gender equality

Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...

. There were thousands of petitions presented to the National Assembly and this one was not discussed. This petition showed how the authors were knowledgeable about the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen which had been adopted in August 1789. They provided 6 pages of women's contributions and addressed gender

Gender

Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...

 roles and slavery

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

.

The Petition

The authors acknowledge how the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, with its "paternal solicitude" makes it so "the poor villager is no longer obliged to grovel before the proud seigneur of his parish; the unfortunate vassal can halt in his tracks the impetuous boar that piteously ravaged his crops; the timid soldier dares to complain when he is run down by the splendid coach of the superb publican; the modest priest can sit down in ease at the table of his most illustrious and most reverend superior; . . . the black African will no longer find himself compared to a stupid animal which, goaded by the prod of a fierce driver, irrigates our furrows with his sweat and blood."

Yet they were angered that women would be left out of being given rights and being able to partake in the reshaping of their country.

They showed the inconsistency and hypocrisy of the Declaration:
"You have broken the scepter of despotism, you have pronounced the beautiful axiom [that] . . . the French are a free people. Yet still you allow thirteen million slaves shamefully to wear the irons of thirteen million despots! You have devined the true equality of rights—and you still unjustly withhold them from the sweetest and most interesting half among you! . . ."

Proposal for a Decree

"The National Assembly, wishing to reform the greatest and most universal of abuses, and to repair the wrongs of a six-thousand-year long injustice, has decreed and decrees as follows:"

1. Abolishment of male privilege throughout France.
2. Equal liberty, advantages, rights, and honors between the sexes.
3. Equal nobleness between the genders and sexes including grammatically.
4. The end of clauses stating "the wife is authorized by her husband" because there should be equality within the household.
5. Right for all to wear breeches
   Breeches
   Breeches are an item of clothing covering the body from the waist down, with separate coverings for each leg, usually stopping just below the knee, though in some cases reaching to the ankles...
   
   .
6. End of degrading soldiers by having them wear women's clothing and instead be punished by declaring his gender neuter.
7. Admittance of the feminine sex to the district and departmental assemblies and "elevated to municipal responsibilities and even as deputies to the National Assembly." The consultative and deliberative voices of women.
8. Appointment of the feminine sex as Magistrates.
9. The same applies to all positions, compensations, and military dignities.
10. Entrance of the feminine sex into the sanctuary.

See also

• Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen
• Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen
  Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen
  The Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen , also known as the Declaration of the Rights of Woman, was written in 1791 by French activist and playwright Olympe de Gouges...
  
  
• French Revolution
  French Revolution
  The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
  
  
• The March on Versailles
  The March on Versailles
  The Women's March on Versailles, also known as The October March, The October Days, or simply The March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. The march began among women in the marketplaces of Paris who, on the morning of 5 October 1789, were...
  
  

External links

• Women's Petition to the National Assembly
• Revolutionary France Web Links