Who Are These Women, and Where Do They Belong?
Never forget that as soon as a political, economic, or religious crisis arises, women’s rights will once again be called into question. These rights are never guaranteed. You must remain vigilant throughout your lives.
Simone de Beauvoir, writer, philosopher
Pálné Veres
Historical Walk
Today, a woman can be an astronaut and sit in the National Assembly. But this wasn’t always the case — far from it!
Many of our grandmothers and great-grandmothers couldn’t attend university or even high school. There was nothing but the spinning circle, and a woman — if she was lucky — could only gain knowledge at home, and nowhere to get an education.
We’ll visit, discover and find out
We’ll visit the former convent of the English Ladies on Váci Street.
We’ll discover who was the first woman to work at the University Library.
We’ll find out where the Hungarian Feminist Association was founded.
We’ll find out who were the first and second female representatives in Parliament — where there wasn’t even a women’s restroom!
We’ll also visit an interesting “crime scene” — the story of courtesans Elza Mágnás and Emília Turcsányi, which even inspired a film.
At the Statue of Pálné Veres
We begin our walk at the statue of Pálné Veres, who was the first in Hungary to protest that women were being pushed into the background in education.
How rare it is that a woman who achieved intellectual distinction not only has a statue in the city center, but also has a street — and even a school — named after her!
Who were the first women who held their own at the university among so many men and built careers in a society where men were the intellectual elite?
Ungár Margit
Monuments, Equality and Memory
Along our route, we’ll also encounter a striking number of statues and monuments dedicated to men. What did they think of the struggle for equality waged by the women of their time?
We’ll commemorate the first woman to receive a law degree, presented in a pink silk sash.
Figures Connected to the Walk
Pálné Veres
Ungár Margit
