Sarmiza Bilcescu

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Bilcescu on a 2021 stamp of Romania

Sarmiza or Sarmisegetuza or Sarmisa Bilcescu (later Bilcescu-Alimănişteanu; 27 April 1867 – 26 August 1935) was a

PhD in law from the Faculty of Law of Paris (University of Paris), and the first one in her country to practice law. She was married to the engineer Constantin Alimănişteanu
.

Biography

Coming from a family closely associated with that of

Ion Brătianu,[1] Sarmiza was accompanied to France by her mother, a self-avowed feminist.[1]

Having applied for University in 1884, Bilcescu was given a poor reception at the faculty; in the words of

Civil law, "We hesitated to award Miss Bilcescu the authorization she demanded, fearing that we would have to police the amphitheaters".[2] She even complained that, after being ultimately accepted, the doorman had not being allowed to enter the university hall (feeling insulted, she pointed out that such behavior contradicted the Liberté, égalité, fraternité motto present above the gate).[2] Nevertheless, after completing her first year of studies, Colmet De Santerre addressed the student body, mentioning Bilcescu's "relentlessness beyond all praise and exemplary conduct", thanking male students for having "welcomed her as a sister" (the speech was received with applause by the audience).[2]

She received a license to practice in 1887.[1][2][3] In 1890, when 71% of female students in France were of foreign origin,[3] Bilcescu was also one of the European women to obtain a PhD in law, after Marie Popelin in 1888.[1][3][4][5][6] Her thesis was titled De la condition légale de la mère ("On the Legal Condition of the Mother").[1][4][5] During the 1880s, a Romanian woman, Christina Cutzarida, had been the first in her country to obtain a doctorate in Medicine.[6]

In 1891, following Constantin Dissescu's campaign in her favor,[7] she was admitted with full honors to the bar association in Ilfov County (which, at that time, also included Bucharest), which was presided over by the notorious lawyer and politician Take Ionescu.[1][5] Aside from being a first in her country (in which women had traditionally been rejected on the basis of Roman law),[7] this event was unprecedented in comparison to most European countries.[1][5] The measure was notably welcomed by the Belgian lawyer and liberal politician Louis Franck, who deemed it "a major innovation".[7]

Nevertheless, Bilcescu never practiced.

Queen Marie, which, for a while in 1915, unsuccessfully campaigned in favor of offering supplementary education to women who were denied access to higher learning.[1]

Mihail Fărcășanu published her biography in 1947 under the pseudonym Mihai Villara.

See also

  • First women lawyers around the world

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Alin Ciupală, Femeia în societatea românească a secolului al XIX-lea ("Women in 19th Century Romanian Society"), Editura Meridiane, Bucharest, 2003, p.59-60, 85
  2. ^
    Clio. Femmes, genre, histoire
    , 4/1996
  3. ^
    Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale
    , Working Paper Nr.16, January 2006, p.7
  4. ^ a b (in French) Sylvie Chaperon, "Une génération d’intellectuelles dans le sillage de Simone de Beauvoir" ("A Generation of Intellectuals in the Wake of Simone de Beauvoir"), in Clio, 13/2001
  5. ^ a b c d (in Romanian) Oana Sandu, Educaţia feminină în societatea romanească a secolului XIX ("Female Education in 19th century Romanian Society"), at miculparis.ro
  6. ^ a b (in Romanian) Amalia Vasilescu, Imaginarul despre Femeie în Vechiul Regat între pozitv şi negativ ("The Image of Women in the Romanian Old Kingdom, between Negative and Positive") Archived 29 March 2007 at the Wayback Machine, at the University of Bucharest site
  7. ^ a b c d e (in Romanian) Andreea Ofiţeru, "Vârsta de aur a avocaturii româneşti" ("The Golden Age of Romanian Law Practice") Archived 14 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine, in Evenimentul Zilei, 3 July 2006
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