 Program of a meeting by the Comité féminin inLe Libertaire (26 October 1912) | |
| Formation | 31 August 1912; 113 years ago (1912-08-31) |
|---|---|
| Purpose | Propagatinganarchism andfeminism |
Key people | Henriette Tilly,Jane Morand,Thérèse Taugourdeau |
TheComité féminin, or in its full name, theComité féminin contre la loi Berry-Millerand, les bagnes militaires et toutes les iniquités sociales (English:Women's committee against the Berry-Millerand law, military penal colonies and all social iniquities), was a Frenchanarcha-feminist,anarcho-communist,anticolonial,antimilitarist, andanarcho-syndicalist organization founded on 31 August 1912 by anarchist activists from the Parisian seamstresses' union, such asHenriette Tilly,Jane Morand, andThérèse Taugourdeau.
Fighting against the deportation of prisoners to the colonies and forwomen's and female workers' rights, the organization quickly became the most significant of its kind in Paris. More broadly, it served as a platform for disseminatingfeminist ideas within French society and, more specifically, amonganarchist circles in France. In this capacity, several activists from the Comité féminin influenced and participated in the anarchist cooperativeLe Cinéma du Peuple, pushing it toward the production ofLes Misères de l'Aiguille, likely the first feminist film in history.
The organization was founded on 31 August 1912 in response to the Berry-Millerand law, which allowed incarcerated individuals to be sent to colonial troops to serve their sentences.[1][2] Military penal colonies were also a key issue leading to the group's formation.[1] The activists behind the Comité féminin came primarily fromanarchist andrevolutionary socialist circles in theÎle-de-France region, particularly from the seamstresses' union.[2]Thérèse Taugourdeau became its first secretary, while Clémence Jusselin served as its first treasurer, and the group's initial meetings were held at the ParisBourse du Travail during the seamstresses' union’s office hours.[2]
The activists quickly became involved in propaganda efforts, writing and distributing several leaflets with titles such as 'Women, Let’s Revolt!', 'Call to themothers, sisters, and companions of the concerned', 'Call to Women', and 'Youngconscripts, listen to our appeals!'.[2] They also created posters, which they put up on the walls of Paris. In one of these posters, titled“Woman! Doyou want to?', they wrote:[1]
Come and show that if the rulers dare to take yours, you have the strength to rise up and that you will not hesitate to use any means necessary to achieve justice.
Woman! It is your turn… The floor is yours!…
On 8 October 1912, Taugourdeau andBerthe Lemaître were arrested while distributing leaflets at theGare de l'Est.[2] However, this did not prevent the activists from holding an important meeting at the salle des Sociétés Savantes on 25 October 1912.[2] Taugourdeau continued to give speeches the following year, speaking on behalf of the Comité féminin before an audience of 1,200, alongsideCharles-Ange Laisant.[2]
During their demonstration on 1 May 1913, several members were arrested by the police.[3] On 25 May 1913, the Comité féminin participated in apacifist gathering atPré-Saint-Gervais.[2] Around this time, Taugourdeau was replaced as secretary byJane Morand, anindividualist anarchist and former editor-in-chief of the newspaperL'Anarchie.[4] By 1913, the Comité féminin was regarded as one of the most important feminist organizations in Paris.[5]
Two members of the committee, Jane Morand andHenriette Tilly, joined the anarchist cooperativeLe Cinéma du Peuple at its inception and influenced it to produceLes Misères de l'aiguille (1914),[5] likely the firstfeminist film in history. Morand also became actively involved in numerous speeches and wrote extensively onantimilitarist issues in the anarchist press during this period.[6]
