Review Of Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication Of The Rights Of Women

“I do not wish them [women] to have power over men; but over themselves,” Mary Wollstonecraft states in her book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. This female writer and philosopher published her ideas in 1792 approximately one hundred and twenty five years before women in the Soviet Union were liberated and strived to gain not only equality but also control over themselves and the expectations they were faced with. When the Bolshevik Party won control over the Russian government in 1917, they aimed to create a socialist society in which every person was equal. Very soon after taking power, the Bolsheviks introduced a new legislation “extending the principles of sexual equality to political, economic, and family life.” Under Article

Women who broke laws would serve their punishment by working in the linen mills and industrial factories. Between Peter’s death in 1725 and the start of the Great War, the population of female workers expanded tremendously. By 1913, women made up “one-third of the industrial labour force in Russia, rising to almost 50% during the First World War.” Peter’s punishment methods for women might have set a precedent that it was acceptable for women to work in factories or, more likely, women needed to find a means to support themselves and their families while husbands and fathers were off fighting

The Bolshevik Party created the Zhenotdel in 1919 with the purpose of enticing women to become politically active. Zhenotdel, the women’s communist organization was created in 1919 with the purpose of promoting women’s involvement with political affairs. Zhenotdel worked hand-in-hand with the Politburo to reform societal values. The activists in this organization campaigned to promote literacy and organized classes for women to learn and practice reading, provided women with information on how their role in society was changing by traveling outside of the cities and giving speeches in rural regions and some Zhenotdel members even advocated for Muslim women in central Asia to be unveiled. Zhenotdel “sought to make the department a refuge and official ‘support group’ for working-class and peasant women and an intellectual inspiration.” Women were encouraged to discuss and question the challenges they faced everyday at Zhenotdel meetings. The organization was largely made up of volunteers and many of the members were wives or female family members of men involved with the Party. In particular, women of Zhenotdel were met with hostility. Much of the Russian population including Trotsky felt that once women joined Zhenotdel they would begin to neglect their family. According to historian, Melanie Ilic, the role of Zhenotdel changed over time. The mobilization