It’s a movement calling for equality between women and men. 

Feminists are fighting so that women can enjoy the same rights as men.  

So then, erm, women and men aren’t equal?

In some countries, they are. But it wasn’t always the case. 

For centuries, women were considered as being less intelligent and weaker than men. They had to stay at home and look after their family. 

Women fought against these false ideas: in the 18th-century, a French woman, Olympe de Gouges, became one of the first feminists.

She wrote a pamphlet demanding that women be allowed to work, to have a house, to give their opinion… but nothing changed.

In the early 20th century, women demanded the vote. We call them “suffragettes”. It was a long struggle.

In France, women only obtained the right to vote in 1944.

In 1965, feminists changed the law: married women could open a bank account, work… even without their husband’s permission.

Today in France, women and men have the same rights. 

But there are still inequalities. For example, many women are paid less than men for the same work.  

Feminists continue to fight against these injustices.