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Declaration of the Rights of Woman and = the Female Citizen

The Declaration

Article 1. Woman is born free a= nd lives equal to man in her rights. Social distinctions can be based only on the co= mmon utility.

Article 2. The purpose of any p= olitical association is the conservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of woman and man; these rights are liberty, property, security, and especially resistance to oppression.

Article 3. The principle of all sovereignty rests essentially with the nation, which is nothing but the uni= on of woman and man; no body and no individual can exercise any authority which does not come expressly from it [the nation].

Article 4. Liberty and justice consist of restoring all that belongs to others; thus, only limits on the exercise of the natural rights of woman are perpetual male tyranny; these limits are to be reformed by the laws of natu= re and reason.

Article 5. Laws of nature and r= eason proscribe all acts harmful to society; everything which is not prohibited by these wise and divine laws cannot be prevented, and no one can be constrain= ed to do what they do not command.

Article 6. The law must be the expression of the general will; all female and male citizens must contribute either personally or through their representatives to its formation; it mus= t be the same for all: male and female citizens, being equal in the eyes of the = law, must be equally admitted to all honors, positions, and public employment according to their capacity and without other distinctions besides those of their virtues and talents.

Article 7. No woman is an excep= tion; she is accused, arrested, and detained in cases determined by law. Women, l= ike men, obey this rigorous law.

Article 8. The law must establi= sh only those penalties that are strictly and obviously necessary, and on one can be punished except by virtue of a law established and promulgated prior to the crime and legally applicable to women.

Article 9. Once any woman is de= clared guilty, complete rigor is [to be] exercised by the law.

Article 10. <= span lang=3DEN style=3D'color:#D60093;mso-ansi-language:EN'>No one is to be disq= uieted for his very basic opinions; woman has the right to mount the scaffold; she must equally have the right to mount the rostrum, provided that her demonstrations do not disturb the legally established public order.

Article 11. <= span lang=3DEN style=3D'color:#D60093;mso-ansi-language:EN'>The free communicati= on of thoughts and opinions is one of the most precious rights of woman, since th= at liberty assures the recognition of children by their fathers. Any female citizen thus may say freely, I am the mother of a child which belongs to yo= u, without being forced by a barbarous prejudice to hide the truth; [an except= ion may be made] to respond to the abuse of this liberty in cases determined by law.

Article 12. <= span lang=3DEN style=3D'color:#D60093;mso-ansi-language:EN'>The guarantee of rig= hts of woman and female citizen implies a major benefit; this guarantee must be instituted for the advantage of all, and not for the particular benefit of those to whom it is entrusted.

Article 13. <= span lang=3DEN style=3D'color:#D60093;mso-ansi-language:EN'>For the support of t= he public force and the expenses of administration, the contributions of woman= and man are equal; she shares all the duties and all the painful tasks; therefo= re, she must have the same share in the distribution of positions, employment, offices, honors and jobs.

Article 14. <= span lang=3DEN style=3D'color:#D60093;mso-ansi-language:EN'>Female and male citi= zens have the right to verify, either by themselves or through their representatives, the necessity of public contribution. This can only apply = to women if they are granted an equal share, not only of wealth, but also of public administration, and in the determination of the proportion, the base, the collection, and the duration of the tax.

Article 15. <= span lang=3DEN style=3D'color:#D60093;mso-ansi-language:EN'>The collectivity of = women, joined for tax purposes to the aggregate of men, has the right to demand an accounting of this administration from any public agent.<= /p>

Article 16. <= span lang=3DEN style=3D'color:#D60093;mso-ansi-language:EN'>No society has a constitution without the guarantee of rights and the separation of powers; = the constitution is null if the majority of individuals comprising the nation h= ave not cooperated in drafting it.

Article 17. <= span lang=3DEN style=3D'color:#D60093;mso-ansi-language:EN'>Property belongs to = both sexes whether united or separate; for each it is an inviolable and sacred right; no one can be deprived of it, since it is the true patrimony of natu= re, unless the legally determined public need obviously dictates it, and then o= nly with a just and prior indemnity.