The beginnings of the women’s
\nemancipation movement in Romania are linked to the intensification of the
\ncountry’s modernisation in the second half of the 19th century. At
\nthe time, some women started to learn trades and professions that until then
\nhad been practiced exclusively by men, such as science and law. Born in April
\n1867, Sarmiza Bilcescu was a pioneer in this respect. She was Romania’s first
\nfemale lawyer and also the first woman to earn a doctoral degree in law from
\nthe University of Sorbonne. At the time, her achievement enjoyed wide coverage
\nin the international press. Historian Alin Ciupala tells us her success was the
\nresult of an opening up of higher education to women:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If you look at
\nthe Western newspapers from 1895, when Sarmiza Bilcescu was awarded her
\ndoctoral title by the Sorbonne, you will notice that her achievement was
\ncelebrated as a major event across the continent. Sarmiza Bilcescu was born
\ninto a liberal family that belonged to Romania’s liberal elite of the second
\nhalf of the 19th century. Her family was close to the Bratianu
\nfamily who gave the founder of the National Liberal Party, Ion Bratianu.
\nSarmiza Bilcescu dedicated herself to her studies, reading law at the
\nUniversity of Bucharest and later going to Paris to study for a doctoral title
\nin law at the Sorbonne. It was not so unusual for a woman to go to university
\nin Romania at the time, as the Faculty of Letters had already started to accept
\nfemale students in 1870 or 1871. The Faculty of Letters was the first faculty
\nthat allowed women to register for courses. The truly exceptional achievement
\nwas Sarmiza Bilcescu’s earning a doctoral title from the Sorbonne because at
\nthe time, the young women of the French Republic were not allowed to register
\nfor a doctoral course at this university. Sarmiza Bilcescu was accepted because
\nshe was there on a scholarship as a foreign student, but hers was an
\nexceptional case. She was Europe’s first woman to earn a doctoral degree in law
\nfrom the Sorbonne. The Romanian press gave extensive cover to the event and
\nwhen she returned to her home country, she was given a warm reception by the
\nIlfov Bar, whose president was the well-known conservative politician Take
\nIonescu.<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Having earned her doctoral
\ntitle and joined the Bar, Sarmiza Bilcescu realised it was not going to be easy
\nfor her to make it in a profession dominated by men. Many of her contemporaries
\nstill saw her as a woman and not as a professional lawyer. The glass ceiling
\nwas still there, as historian Alin Ciupala explains:<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We would have
\nexpected her to dedicate herself to her profession and advance on the path she
\nhad taken, but this is where the split occurred. Law is a liberal profession
\nand therefore open to anyone as long as they have clients that can provide a
\nsource of income. Unfortunately, Sarmiza Bilcescu realised her worst fears were
\nfounded, namely that very few Romanians had the courage to reveal their
\npersonal problems to her and ask for her professional advice. This is how her
\ncareer came to an end, a career that had started out so well. Sarmiza Bilcescu
\nsoon had to give up the legal profession and devote herself to domestic life.
\nShe married a young man called Ion Alimanisteanu, who also came from a liberal
\nfamily, and retreated from the public sphere. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Before her death in August
\n1935, Sarmiza Bilcescu co-founded a society that promoted education for women <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sarmiza Bilcescu was Romania’s first female lawyer and also the first woman to get a doctoral degree from the University of Sorbonne.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":50395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45210],"tags":[45302],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-168249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rri-encyclopaedia","tag-sarmiza-bilcescu"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n