Feminism and Pacifism in England and France during World War I - Research Paper Example

In France and England, women have played vital roles during the First World War, and such roles have helped secure victories for the Allied Forces. The thesis statement for this paper is: The participation of French and British women during the First World War laid out the foundation for improved rights for these women following WWI. Empowered women in France and England helped initiate and advance the cause for the First World War and for contemporary feminism. This paper shall first discuss the role of women in France and England during the First World War.

It shall then move on to discuss how these women helped advance the cause of feminism and then of the First World War. A final discussion on how these women have contributed to the causes of contemporary feminism shall also be presented. This study is being carried out in order to help understand feminism within the context of the First World War in France and England. It also seeks to develop a better understanding of the current state of feminism and its development throughout the years.

During the First World War, women in France and England played various roles. In France, the women assisted in the war efforts and activities, but mostly as individuals or as members of private organizations1. The French government did not want to mobilize and militarize their women because the French government did not recognize these women as citizens who also had their roles to play in the well-being of the country2. The government believed that if the French women would be militarized, then they were also full-fledged citizens of the country.

This would imply that there was a need for the French government to also recognize the civic and suffrage rights of the women3. Allowing women to participate in the war efforts was also seen by the French government as a major threat to the gender construct in their country. Wars and the military 

were seen as a means to advance masculinity and male dominance, pushing away the concepts of female emancipation. 

            Such male dominance however did not have many places in the context of the increased enthusiasm towards nationalistic goals which was observed during the First World War, however, prompted Britain and France to grudgingly acknowledge and support the establishment of an official, but a controlled role for women in support of the national defense.