Who the hell is…? brings you our new Biography Bites – compact biographies of the world’s greatest thinkers.

This episode tells the life story of Olympe de Gouges, an 18th century French feminist who has largely been forgotten by history, despite her important political legacy and execution for her beliefs. Described invariably as an activist, a humanist, a stateswoman, a political analyst, a playwright and a femme philosophe, Olympe de Gouges was all these things but above all,
she was a champion of human rights. In her short lifetime, she wrote more than 60 political works and 15 socially conscious plays, demonstrating her strong belief in the power of the word as a weapon against discrimination in all its forms.

De Gouges was best known for her Declaration of the Rights of Woman, her fight against the Church and its stance on marriage and divorce, and her fight for the abolition of slavery. Against the political backdrop of the French Revolution, de Gouges was a passionate and fearless writer, actively speaking out to encourage women's voices in the public sphere. She was incredibly forward thinking in the way that she was able to reap the benefit of the theories of the Enlightenment thinkers who's ideas, though progressive, were still rooted in a patriarchal system. De Gouges was able to look beyond the gender strictures and use only the wisdom of their philosophy (and not its content) to create her own convictions.

We hope you enjoy this episode and don't forget to look out for our other biography bites on the world's greatest thinkers!