Anna Maria Mozzoni (5 May 1837 – 14 June 1920) is commonly held as the founder of the woman's movement in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. One of the roles she is most known for is her pivotal involvement in gaining women's suffrage in Italy.

Biography

Mozzoni was born in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

in 1837. Early in her career, Mozzoni embraced the

utopian socialism Utopian socialism is the term often used to describe the first current of modern socialism and socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Henri de Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, Étienne Cabet, and Robert Owen. Utopian socialism is often de ...

of Charles Fourier. 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 an officia ...

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

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. In 1879, she published her translation from English into Italian of '' The Subjection of Women'' by

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

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

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

, including woman suffrage. In 1881, she also founded the League for the Promotion of the Interests of Women ('' Lega promotrice degli interessi femminili'') in

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

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

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