Emma Graf (October 11, 1865 – November 22, 1926) was a Swiss historian, teacher, and campaigner for

women's suffrage in Switzerland Women in Switzerland gained the right to vote in federal elections after 1971 Swiss women's suffrage referendum, a referendum in February 1971. The first federal vote in which women were able to participate was the 1971 Swiss federal election, ...

Early life and education

Emma Graf was the daughter of a

hardware store Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing ...

manager and an

innkeeper Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

. She was

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a Tradesman, trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in ...

d as a linen maid. With the financial support of her aunt, Graf began studying to become a teacher at the pedagogical seminary in

Hindelbank Hindelbank is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the administrative district of Emmental (administrative district), Emmental in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Switzerland. On 1 January 2021 the former mu ...

. She attended courses in history, German language, and literature at the

University of Bern The University of Bern (, , ) is a public university, public research university in the Switzerland, Swiss capital of Bern. It was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the canton of Bern. It is a comprehensive university offering a br ...

. In 1903, she published her thesis entitled (Rahel Varnhagen and Romanticism in French) and obtained her doctorate.

Career

In 1904, she became editor of the . As head of the Swiss Association of Schoolteachers, she campaigned for better training, working conditions, and pay for schoolteachers. In 1907, Graf became the first

associate professor Associate professor is an academic title with two principal meanings: in the North American system and that of the ''Commonwealth system''. In the ''North American system'', used in the United States and many other countries, it is a position ...

in Switzerland. She participated in the feminist movement and fought for legal and political equality for women. In 1912, she joined the Bernese Association for Women's Suffrage and became its president. Thanks to her campaign, in 1917, the ''

communes A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

'' of the

Canton of Bern The canton of Bern, or Berne (; ; ; ), is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. Its capital city, Bern, is also the ''de facto'' capital of Switzerland. The bear is the heraldic symbol of the c ...

granted women the passive

right to vote Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in representative democracy, public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in ...

in municipal affairs. In 1915/16, she co-initiated the collection of donations for sick soldiers and their families. In 1915, she founded the Swiss Women's Yearbook in three languages, editing the first five volumes. The publication's aim was to bear witness to the work and aspirations of Swiss women. In 1921, she was elected president of the Second (Swiss National Congress for Women's Interests) in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

, where the economic, social, and family tasks of Swiss women were discussed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graf, Emma 1865 births 1926 deaths People from Langenthal Swiss educators Swiss suffragists Swiss feminists University of Bern alumni 20th-century Swiss historians Swiss editors Swiss women editors