Despite Olympe de Gouges who published, in 1791, the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and Citizen: “Woman is born free and remains equal to man in rights” (art. 1 (new window)), the French Revolution does not change the condition of women and does not open the way to citizenship for them. On the contrary, in 1804, the civil code institutionalized the inferiority of the woman who “owes obedience to her husband”.

Under the Third Republic, women benefited from civil advances such as access to education, and the First World War demonstrated that they were essential to the proper functioning of the economy.

In 1944, the ordinance of April 21(new window) of the Provisional Government of the French Republic installed in Algiers granted the right to vote and eligibility to women.

In the second half of the 20th century, women’s demands covered all areas of social, economic and political life and militated for real equality.