Proceedings of The 6th Global Conference on Women’s Studies
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Mary Wollstonecraft: gender equality and education as empowerment
Paola Partenza
ABSTRACT:
The term ‘citizenship’ traditionally refers to an individual’s membership of a state and is mainly associated with issues related to the loss and acquisition of citizenship status. However, in current public discussions, the concept of ‘citizenship’ has acquired a wide-ranging definition. In the late 18th century, an individual’s relationship with the political and legal order in which they were embedded was subject to many constraints, and citizenship was not ubiquitous. In her 1792 work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft sought to demonstrate the necessity for individual freedom, particularly for women, based on the concept of independence and the exercise of rights. Wollstonecraft associated citizenship with participation in the political community and being a subject of the community by exercising one’s rights. However, her contemplation on the subordination of women due to their limited education led her to question the position of women in society. Wollstonecraft thus posed the question: “Was not the world a vast prison, and women born slaves?” These reflections are still relevant and encourage contemplation. The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate how Wollstonecraft’s perspectives on the role of women in her time are also highly relevant today.
keywords: woman, autonomy, education, gender role, empowerment