Lida Gustava Heymann

Who was Lida Gustava Heymann?

Lida Gustava Heymann was a German women's rights activist.

Together with her partner and girlfriend Anita Augspurg she was one of the most prominent figures in the bourgeois women's movement. She was, among other things, in the forefront of the Verband Fortschrittlicher Frauenvereine.

She co-founder of the abolitionist movement in Germany. In this role she came into conflict with the law as she protested about the treatment of prostitutes and called for the abolition of state regulation for them. Heymann wanted to "help women free themselves from male domination." With her vast inheritance she established a women's centre, offering meals, a crèche and counselling. She also founded a co-educational high school and professional associations for female clerks and theatre workers.

In 1902 she jointly founded the first German Verein für Frauenstimmrecht. Together with Augspurg, she published the newspaper Frau im Staat from 1919 to 1933. This newspaper presented the pacifist, feminist and democratic positions on various subjects.