Emilie Gourd

Emilie Gourd in November 1935

Emilie Gourd (born December 19, 1879 in Geneva ; † December 4, 1946 there , entitled to homeland there ) was a Swiss women's rights activist who played an important role in the fight for women's suffrage . From 1912 to 1928 she was President of the Swiss Association for Women's Suffrage (SVF) .

Life

The daughter of the theology professor Jean-Jacques Gourd and his wife Marguerite Bert-Vaucher attended the secondary school for girls in Geneva and attended lectures in history and philosophy at the university before she turned to the teaching profession.

Her family had Italian roots, which is why Gourd had a penchant for Italian culture and language. Together with her very esteemed mother, who shared her ideals, she lived in a country house in Prégny , but in winter in a city apartment.

In 1909 she met Auguste de Morsier , president of the Geneva women's suffrage association, Association genevoise pour le suffrage féminin. In 1912 she founded the magazine Mouvement féministe, of which she remained editor-in-chief until her death. She sacrificed her time and a good part of her fortune for the women's movement.

She chaired numerous clubs and organizations. From 1923 she was secretary of the International Alliance for Women's Suffrage and, as such, the “right hand” of Carrie Chapman Catt , then of Margery Corbett Ashby . During the time of the League of Nations , she regularly represented women's organizations in Geneva at its events. In 1925 Gourd organized the first cantonal exhibition on women's work in Geneva (the model for the SAFFA , which took place in 1928). She was a sharp critic of the Hitler regime in Germany, but continued to support friendly German women. One of her last works was the yearbook of Swiss women.

Emilie Gourd represented the ideals of the French Revolution throughout her life : freedom and equality. Despite her unshakable egalitarian conviction, she was part of the moderate wing of the suffragette movement internationally, thanks to her strict adherence to legality . was valued for taking targeted, mediating positions and for the lack of opportunism in her advice and was happy to pass on acquaintances.

literature

• Martine Chaponnière: Emilie Gourd. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Antonius Lux (ed.): Great women of world history. A thousand biographies in words and pictures . Sebastian Lux Verlag , Munich 1963, p. 195

Web links

Commons : Emilie Gourd  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Emilie Gourd's estate, AGoF 553 in the finding aids of the Gosteli Foundation, archive on the history of the Swiss women's movement