Marie Popelin

I’ve learned a lot about Marie Popelin on this trip. She was born in the mid 1800s right outside of Brussels and had a few siblings, both girl and boys. Her and her sister both became teachers and eventually ran a girls school, and Marie ended up being the head mistress of the girls school, but only for a year. All of these jobs she had left under not great circumstances. After this, she decided to change her path and go to law school. She was the first woman in Belgium to go to law school and graduate, but they refused her application to the bar on the basis of her gender. She found an attorney to represent her and they sued Belgium and lost, so they appealed but lost again. She and her attorney formed the Belgium league of rights of woman; working for universal suffrage and for the right for women to be admitted to the professional jobs; accountants, lawyers, doctors, real estate agents, etc. By the time that she died she didn’t win either of these(suffrage & right to work), but got almost everything else. My reaction to this woman is that she put her mind to everything, but when some things didn’t work out, she didn’t let it get her down. 


I think Marie Popelin’s contribution was important in advocating for women’s rights and legal reforms in Belgium during her time. As the first Belgian woman to earn a law degree, she challenged societal norms and fought for gender equality in both education and law. Her activism laid the foundation for advancements in women’s rights, including the right to vote and access to higher education. Through her challenging discriminatory laws and social attitudes, she helped pave the way for greater gender equality in Belgium, which also inspired many generations to continue to fight for women’s rights. 


In my opinion, she was not commemorated well. The main thing they have to remember and celebrate her is a road named after her, but it’s a ghetto road basically entering a parking structure. It’s more of an insult than it is a celebration. She was sometimes seen as a battle ax because she wanted and had emotion, which personally I don’t see as a bad thing. She was able to reinvent herself when other things didn’t work out. I think if people were able to see her that way, she’d have more than a crappy street behind a parking structure 


That’s all! 

Sophie 



Comments

  1. Kaia HathawayMay 8, 2024 at 2:26 PM

    Nice post, Sophie! You mention that Popelin graduated with a law degree, but the committee refused to let her practice law. She was an exceptional student, plus there were no laws stating that women couldn't become lawyers. Yet they still denied her application. So, there were barriers she was against when there shouldn't have been issues in the first place. And even though Popelin made a stand, there still exists issues today, such as the wage gap. And it wasn't long ago that Ruth Ginsburg examined (and fought against) gendered laws even in the 1950s. By understanding Popelin, we can understand the norms during that time in Belgium and how her actions made a difference both in Belgium and in other areas. As Popelin is known (and continues to become more well-known), people come to Brussels to learn and appreciate her impact. Because of all of this, Popelin's stance contributes to Brussel's status as a cultural capital in that there stands a rich history of how women make a difference (and in Brussels specifically, as well).

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