Eugenia de Reuss Ianculescu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eugenia de Reuss Ianculescu
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c. 1912
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| Born |
Eugenia de Reuss-Mirza
11 March 1866 |
| Died | 29 December 1938 (aged 72) Igești, Storojineț County, Kingdom of Romania
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| Nationality | Romanian |
| Other names | Eugenia de Reus-Ianculescu, Eugenia Ianculescu |
| Occupation | Teacher, writer, women's rights activist |
| Years active | 1889–1938 |
| Known for | Suffrage activist |
Eugenia de Reuss Ianculescu (born March 11, 1866 – died December 29, 1938) was a Romanian teacher, writer, and activist for women's rights. She helped start the first women's rights group in Romania, called the Women's League. Later, she founded the League for Romanian Women's Rights and Duties.
For 50 years, she worked hard to get women the right to vote. She wrote books, gave speeches, and asked politicians for support. She even presented ideas for new laws. In the year she died, Romanian women finally won the right to vote in national elections.
Contents
Eugenia's Early Life
Eugenia de Reuss Ianculescu was born on March 11, 1866. Her birthplace was Igești, a village in the Bukovina region. At that time, this area was part of the Austrian Empire. The next year, it became part of Austria-Hungary.
Eugenia grew up on her father's large estate. Her parents were Maria Dinotto-Gusti and Alexandru de Reuss-Mirza, who were from noble families. She went to primary school in Iași, a major city in Romania. After school, she became a teacher. She often traveled to France and Italy. She was part of groups that studied ancient Greek and Latin, and also archaeology.
Later, Eugenia married a man named Ianculescu. He was a high-ranking officer in the army. Not much else is known about her husband.
Fighting for Women's Rights
In 1889, while teaching in Iași, Eugenia tried to start a group for women's voting rights. But she couldn't find enough people who were interested. She tried again in 1891, encouraged by another activist, Marya Chéliga-Loevy. Still, it didn't work out.
Starting the Women's League
Finally, on October 30, 1894, Romania's first women's organization was approved. Eugenia had convinced Cornelia Emilian to be the president. Emilian was a writer and activist, and her husband was a well-known professor. They founded the Women's League (Liga Femeilor Române) in Iași.
The group started publishing a magazine called Buletinul Ligii Femeilor (Women's League Bulletin). This magazine shared articles about women's rights from around the world. The Women's League was active for five years. Around 1900, the group closed down. After this, Eugenia de Reuss Ianculescu moved to Bucharest.
Writing and Speaking Out
Eugenia then started writing novels. She published several books over the next few years. These included Voință (Willpower, 1902), Spre dezrobire (Towards Emancipation, 1903), Pentru o Idee (For an Ideal, 1904), and Menirea femeii (Woman’s Fate, 1906). Her book Voință was even nominated for an award. Spre dezrobire was dedicated to her daughter, who had passed away as a baby.
After her books became popular, Eugenia began giving speeches about women's rights. She spoke at the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest. Her speeches covered topics like the future of women and women's role in politics.
Founding a New League
The success of her speeches led Eugenia to create a new group in 1910. It was first called the Women’s Emancipation Society. In 1913, it was renamed the League for Romanian Women’s Rights and Duties (LDDFR). This was the first women's group focused specifically on getting women the right to vote. It started in Bucharest but soon had branches across Romania.
Eugenia de Reuss Ianculescu and Dr. Nicolae Minovici were co-presidents. They also had important men, like Constantin G. Dissescu, join as honorary presidents. Eugenia believed that men and women working together could achieve more. She thought their skills were different but could help each other.
By 1912, she was editing a monthly magazine for the group called Droit des Femmes (Women's Rights). In 1913, the LDDFR asked the Romanian Parliament to give women civil and political rights.
Working with Other Groups
In 1913, the LDDFR joined the International Women's Suffrage Alliance. This was a big international group working for women's voting rights. In 1914, Eugenia and other activists supported a request to add women's voting rights to Romania's Constitution.
During World War I, she continued to give speeches and attend meetings. She wanted to keep the idea of women's political involvement alive. She was invited to an international women's meeting in 1915. However, she chose not to go. She felt the meeting was asking women to choose peace over loyalty to their country. Eugenia was very loyal to Romania.
Achieving the Vote
After the war, in 1918, Transylvania joined Romania. Eugenia became a vice president of a new group called the Union of Romanian Women from Greater Romania. In 1921, the LDDFR joined a larger group called the National Council of Romanian Women. Eugenia became a vice president of this new organization, which was connected to the International Council of Women. Two years later, Eugenia was named "president for life" of the LDDFR.
From 1926 to 1935, she was also on the board of the International Women's Suffrage Alliance. In 1923, Romania wrote a new Constitution. But it still did not give women the right to vote. Women were treated as if they couldn't make legal decisions on their own.
Eugenia kept pushing for women's voting rights through different organizations. They had some success in 1929. Women won the right to vote in local elections. Then, in 1938, they finally won the right to vote in national elections! Sadly, women lost these rights the very next year.
Eugenia de Reuss Ianculescu passed away on December 29, 1938. She died at her home in Igești, which was then part of Greater Romania.
Selected Works
- Voință (1902) București, Romania (in Romanian)
- Spre dezrobire (1903) București, Romania (in Romanian)
- Pentru o Idee (1904) București, Romania (in Romanian)
- Menirea femeii (1906) București, Romania (in Romanian)
