This is absolutely true and I’m never gonna not be mad about it. For anyone who wants more details: in the United States, single, widowed, and divorced women were legally required to have a man present to sign for a new line of credit at a bank until 1975.
A woman born in 1975 will celebrate her 46th birthday this year.
Emancipation from your husband isn’t that old… Among other things, in France, before
1907 women didn’t have the right to use their own salary as they wished
1920 women couldn’t be in a union without the permission of their husband
1938 women didn’t have to right to go to university or a hospital without the permission of their husband
1965 women couldn’t open a bank account or work without the permission of their husband
1967 contraception was illegal
1970 the father had authority over the children, not the mother, as he was considered the “head of the family” (which was replaced with “parental authority”) (although it took over 20 years to be implemented in every legal situation)
1972 women couldn’t contest the paternity of their child if they were married
1974 contraception wasn’t free
1975 women couldn’t get an abortion / choose their place of their residence independently from their husband’s will / husbands had the right to read the mail addressed to their wife
1980 wives of farmers weren’t considered as farmers themselves (ish bc the date is more complicated than that)
1982 women had to pay to get an abortion
1990 marital rape wasn’t recognized
And although divorce was legalized in 1792 during the French revolution, it became illegal again in 1816 with the return of the monarchy. Divorce was then legalized in 1884, but only if a fault was proven. Divorce by mutual consent was only made legal in 1975.
