On Tuesday, January 14, Féminin Pluriel Montpellier Méditerranée welcomed Magali Segouin, creator of Les Belles Visites, for a leap into the 18th century to meet Olympe de Gouges.
Olympe de Gouges, a visionary woman of the 18th century, long despised and then erased from collective memory, is finally being rehabilitated.
A revolutionary, humanist, playwright, writer, woman of ideas, pamphleteer, and feminist pioneer, she stood up with courage and conviction to defend avant-garde ideas that resonate even today.
She is best known for her Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen (1791). At the height of the French Revolution, Olympe de Gouges wrote this groundbreaking text.
A true response to the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, she strongly denounces the exclusion of women from civil and political rights. Article 10, the most famous today, proclaims:
“No one should be disturbed for their opinions, even fundamental ones; a woman has the right to go to the scaffold, she must also have the right to go to the podium.”
Her independence of thought and boldness led her to confront one of the most powerful and feared figures of her time: Robespierre.
“Rude and vile conspirator, correct yourself if there’s still time. I throw down the gauntlet of civility, do you dare to pick it up? Mark on this poster the day, the hour, the place of the fight, I will be there.”
But Olympe de Gouges did not stop there. She embodied a true vision for a more just society, proposing a program of social reforms to fight against poverty, injustice, and slavery—her most important battle.
She wrote an engaged and poignant play, The Slavery of the Negroes, or the Happy Shipwreck (1789), in which she denounces the atrocities of this inhumane practice.
Her text, rare for the time, highlights the brutality of colonial systems and calls consciences to the dignity and rights of oppressed peoples. By choosing theater as a means of expression, she hoped to raise awareness among a wide audience and spark a real political debate. Unfortunately, her play was largely ignored, but it remains a powerful testament to her humanist commitment.
Refusing to yield to intimidation, she never renounced her ideals, even at the cost of her own life. She was arrested, judged without a lawyer, and guillotined in 1793.
“In defending the oppressed, I only wanted what was just.”
Today, Olympe de Gouges is an inspiration for those who dare to defend their convictions in the face of adversity.