Anna Maria Mozzoni (5 May 1837 – 14 June 1920) is commonly held as the founder of the woman's movement in Italy. One of the roles she is most known for is her pivotal involvement in gaining woman's suffrage in Italy.

Biography

Mozzoni was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

in 1837. Early in her career Mozzoni embraced the utopian socialism of

Charles Fourier François Marie Charles Fourier (;; 7 April 1772 – 10 October 1837) was a French philosopher, an influential early socialist thinker and one of the founders of utopian socialism. Some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical i ...

. She later defended the poor and championed women's equality, arguing that women needed to enter the workplace to develop the female personality outside of the "''monarcato patriarcale''" (patriarchal family). In 1864 she wrote ''Woman and her social relationships on the occasion of the revision of the Italian Civil Code'' (La donna e i suoi rapporti sociali in occasione della revisione del codice italiano), a feminist critique of Italian family law. In 1877 Mozzoni presented a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offic ...

to parliament for woman suffrage. In 1878 Mozzoni represented Italy at the International Congress on Women's Rights in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. In 1879 she published her translation from English into Italian of ''

The Subjection of Women ''The Subjection of Women'' is an essay by English philosopher, political economist and civil servant John Stuart Mill published in 1869, with ideas he developed jointly with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill. Mill submitted the finished manuscript ...

'' by

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

. In 1881 Mozzoni joined with other republicans, radicals, and socialists in a call for

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

, including woman suffrage. In 1881 she also founded the League for the Promotion of the Interests of Women (''

Lega promotrice degli interessi femminili Lega promotrice degli interessi femminili ('League for the Promotion of the Interests of Women') was an Italian organization for women's rights, founded in 1880. It was the first organization for women's right in Italy. It was founded by Anna M ...

'') in

to promote a variety of causes of interest to women. Mozzoni died in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (Romulus and Remus, legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg ...

on 14 June 1920.

References

*Sunshine for Women
Anna Maria Mozzoni 1837-1920
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mossoni, Anna Maria 1837 births 1920 deaths People from the Province of Varese Italian feminists Italian suffragists 19th-century Italian women Italian socialist feminists

Biography

See also

References