Brussels: Marie Popelin Blog Post




I have learned a lot about this woman during our trip! Some things I have learned is about how Marie Popelin was a woman who was willing to try new things.  She left her previous career to do law school.  She wanted to take the bar to be fully licensed and begin practicing law.  However, they would not let her because she was a woman.  She challenged this multiple times with a lawyer of her own and lost multiple times.  She realized that it was the oppression towards woman that needs to change instead.  Learning about Marie Popelin and how she continued challenging previous ideals shows how when she sets her mind to something she will do everything in her power to achieve it.  

Her contribution to feminism is so important because she is someone that will work towards something.  When she saw unfairness in her life she decided to do something about it.  When she challenged Brussels and had a case against them it gave awareness to the issue that should be changed.  I believe she has changed society because of the awareness she spread and helped other people to learn about.  This is helped to change how we practice law today.  As well as how woman are able to do have careers in any career they would like.  We are better able to have the career we want even though there are still some suppression that happens in the work place.  

I believe that Marie Popelin has not been commemorated well.  She has a street named after her.  However, it is supposedly very dingy.  The building we went to was a better representation of what she has done.  There should be some kind of statue or have the building named after her in some way in order to make it a better way to show how big of a difference she has made in society and feminism specifically.  Having such a strong Belgium woman who made such a big difference to us should show to others what Marie Popelin has done.  

Comments

  1. Theresa BellMay 8, 2024 at 10:40 AM

    This is wonderful Elease! Seeing the massive law building and learning about Popelin really gave me a new appreciation for Brussel's as a cultural capital. Popelin's actions really helped kick off first wave feminism in Brussels, and that sort of forward thinking is a big part of what has shaped Brussels into the cultural capital it is today.

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  2. Anna's Study Abroad 2024May 8, 2024 at 1:21 PM

    Love this! I agree she is faced so much opposition but pushed through. She first experienced the rejection of being able to take the bar and then she faced rejection two more times when she tried to fight back for her rights. I think this shows that the biggest obstacle she faced was people who were blinded by stubbornness and refused to see reason. Great post thanks for sharing!

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  3. Sophie TravellerMay 8, 2024 at 3:35 PM

    Awesome job girly!! I loved how you put it in terms of Marie Popelin challenging the literal town of Brussels! It paints amazing imagery of what she was actually trying to do, and you were right, she was almost fighting the entire city in her search for justice. Not just for herself but for all women in Brussels and Belgium. And like you said near the end, she did make a difference for women all throughout Belgium, even if she never saw the full effect.

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