Marie Popelin

    

    I learned a lot about Marie Popelin today! She grew up in a family where she was very well educated! She worked with Isabelle Gatti. She worked in a girls school, and she was a headmistress. All of these things did not last very long so she decided to switch her life path and go to law school! She was the first woman in Belgium to graduate from law school, however when she went to apply to the bar they refused her based on her gender. She was not okay with this so she found an attorney to help her fight this! Unfortunately they lost, and when they tried to appeal they lost again. After this experience it inspired her to form the Belitung league of the rights of women. She fought to help women be able to have “liberal” jobs. I would say that she is pretty inspiring. Not only did she help women but she showed us that you don’t have to pick one thing and stick with it. I feel like a lot of the time we feel that we have to pick something to do in college and then we are stuck with it but Marie did lots of different things in different fields! I really like this. 

    Marie fought for men and women to be equal and for women to be able to have the same opportunities as men. Her contribution has helped us get to where we are today where women can be lawyers, doctors, finance people, etc. It didn’t happen in her lifetime but she was an early feminist that believed in giving women more and that they could handle more and do well. I think she would be really proud to see all the women that are thriving in today's workforce. Furthermore, she had a huge impact on the Belgium feminist movement. So I am sure Belgian women are very thankful for her. 

    Marie has not been commemorated well. A street has been named after her, but it is a terrible street. It is in a terrible location. It is so bad that it is more of an insult than a commemoration. Such a strong woman should be commemorated a whole lot better. One idea is maybe she could have a court room named after her in the huge building we visited today. This building is where she made a stand. She wasn’t able to win her trial but it started her on her journey of helping women. I think having a courtroom named after her would be pretty cool. Maybe even the exact one where men denied her the chance to take the bar. 

Comments

  1. Laynee JohnsonMay 7, 2024 at 2:03 PM

    Popelin encountered resistance and discrimination as she sought to enter the legal profession, facing skepticism and barriers to enrollment in law school.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anna's Study Abroad 2024May 8, 2024 at 1:27 PM

    Great post! I think that she complicates the history of Brussels because it was a failure on the part of their legal system. We can clearly see that their ruling during the Popelin affair was not right. But At the same time she was able to inspire alot of women from there, so it is a mixed bag! thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

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