Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre facts for kids
Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre (born in 1846, died in 1939) was a brave French woman who was a violinist, nurse, writer, and a strong supporter of women's rights. She is best known for trying to change old rules that stopped women from wearing trousers. She also became famous for having a fencing duel with an American woman!
Marie-Rose used different pen names for her writing, like Jehan des Etrivières and la mère Marthe. She studied medicine and helped as a nurse during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. Later, in 1889, she started a group called the League of Women's Enfranchisement. This group worked to get women the right to vote.
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Marie-Rose's Early Life
Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre was born in Paris, France, on September 30, 1846. Her parents had lost everything because of the French Revolution. Her father moved to the United States, so her mother raised her.
She loved music from a young age. Her mother taught her first, and then she had professional teachers. By the time she was 13, Marie-Rose was a very good violinist. She even started writing her own music for the piano. What was really unusual for her time was that she also studied medicine. This helped her become a nurse during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
Fighting for Women's Rights
Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre was a woman who didn't like to follow old-fashioned rules. She rode a bicycle, which was uncommon for women then. She even dressed like a man sometimes!
In 1882, she wrote a book called Les Amazones du siècle (The Amazons of the Century). She used the name Jehan des Etrivières for this book. From 1885, she wrote reviews about books and education for a newspaper called La Citoyenne.
The Famous Fencing Duel
Marie-Rose started working on women's rights issues as early as 1880. One of her biggest goals was to change the rules that stopped women from wearing trousers. She believed these rules were unfair.
In 1886, she became very famous for something unusual: she had a duel with another woman! This American woman, Miss Shelby, and Marie-Rose had a debate about whether French women doctors or American women doctors were better. The debate turned into a fencing duel. Marie-Rose won the duel, and Miss Shelby got a small injury. This event made Marie-Rose known as a skilled fencer. Duels were usually only for men, but Marie-Rose went on to start a fencing club just for women.
Working for Equal Pay and Voting Rights
In 1887, Marie-Rose spoke at a big meeting for women's rights. She worked with another woman named Marie Bonnevial. They asked for "À travail égal, salaire égal," which means "For equal work, equal pay." This was a very important idea then, and it still is today.
On July 1, 1887, she sent a request to government leaders. She asked them to get rid of an old rule from 1800 that stopped women from wearing trousers. She said that the big, bulky dresses women had to wear caused accidents and sometimes even death. Even though she tried many times, she couldn't get the rule changed.
In 1889, Marie-Rose ran for election in her city. She also started two new groups: the Socialist League of Women and the League of Women's Enfranchisement. These groups wanted to fight all the unfair things women faced. They had big goals:
- Equal pay for women
- Allowing women to study any subject and work in any job
- Giving women the right to vote (women's suffrage)
In 1891, at a large meeting of her League, they voted to ask theaters and newspapers to pay women the same as men for doing the same job.
In 1892, Marie-Rose wrote a helpful guide for working housewives. She used the name "la mère Marthe" for this book. In the same year, she helped create a larger group called the French Federation of Feminist Societies.
Marie-Rose Astié de Valsayre continued to work for women's rights and write many books until she passed away in 1939. She was a true pioneer who fought for a more equal world.
