“From now on, men and women are equal citizens. Women, take this to heart: Thanks to the Republic, you now have your liberty, your equality […] From November 12 onward, no woman can be denied of political rights any longer!”

That appeared in the Arbeiterinnenzeitung or Women Workers’ Newspaper in November 1918, one week after the Democratic Republic was established. Adelheid Popp was an editor of this newspaper that she had co-founded as a young woman. The newspaper was dedicated to the struggle for women’s rights. After the elections in February 1919, Adelheid Popp was one of the first eight women to become a Member of Parliament—and the very first woman to hold a speech in the Austrian Parliament.

When she was only ten years old, she had to quit school and go to work to help her family make ends meet. She started out as a housemaid and later worked from home and in a factory. She came into contact with social democratic ideas early on and enthusiastically joined in the movement dedicated to improving the workers’ catastrophic living and working conditions. At the end of the 19th century, it was not uncommon that workers faced twelve-hour workdays, hazardous working conditions, low wages, and absolutely unacceptable housing situations.

In her early 20s, Adelheid Popp held her first public speech, condemning the terrible exploitation of women workers. From that point on, she was a regular speaker at assemblies and emerged as a key figure in the Social Democrats’ movements for women’s and workers’ rights.

Under the monarchy, women were forbidden to take part in or form political organizations. Despite this, in the late 19th century, women built a movement demanding political participation and equal rights for women. Although repeatedly charged and even imprisoned for her political actions—Adelheid Popp stayed her course and continued to fight.

The right to vote was a central demand of the women’s movements at the time. And, with the founding of the Republic in 1918, it finally became reality.

After so many years of tireless struggle, a new chapter began for Adelheid Popp when she became a Member of Parliament in 1919. Many demands to improve worker’s protection were met in those early days of the First Republic.

For the most part, however, the demands for women’s political rights remained unheard, such as full equal rights for men and women, Marriage Law reform, or the right to abortion. It was not until the 1970s that many of her demands from the 1920s and 1930s were finally met and written into law.

Adelheid Popp retired from politics and as a public figure in 1933. She passed away in 1939 at the age of 70.

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