The project ‘Swiss Women Lawyers and Women’s Rights in Switzerland since 1971’ aims to bring the history of gender equality in Switzerland to life through interviews with women lawyers and politicians and to fill a gap in the history of (women’s) law. The interviews, conducted in Switzerland’s four national languages, provide an insight into the legal, political and social developments that have contributed to the creation and development of women’s rights. The blog, which serves as the project’s central platform, documents this oral history and is a valuable resource for students.
The project is interdisciplinary and is actively shaped and developed by students as part of the annual seminar ‘History of Women’s Rights’. Students have the opportunity to write academic papers based on the interviews and historical documents published on the blog. These papers are then published on the blog, adding to the collection of material on the history of women’s rights in Switzerland. The students are not just passive consumers of knowledge, but actively contribute to the creation and development of the blog. They conduct interviews, research historical contexts and write academic articles that explore the topics in greater depth.
The innovative character of the project lies in the fact that the students not only learn from textbooks, but also gain valuable insights into the development process of laws and social changes through direct, contemporary sources – the interviews with women who have significantly shaped Swiss gender equality policy. This promotes understanding of legal and political contexts and encourages critical thinking.
The blog, which serves as a didactic tool, is constantly being developed and is conceived as a long-term project. In addition to the interviews already conducted, further discussions with personalities who have contributed to the history of women’s rights in Switzerland are planned. Students will have the opportunity to explore a variety of topics, including the introduction of women’s suffrage, the creation of the Federal Commission for Women’s Issues, and the development of gender equality legislation, such as the Gender Equality Act of 1996.
The project has a sustainable structure because it is based on the annual seminar and the ongoing publication of the students’ work on the blog. This ensures that knowledge of the history of women’s rights in Switzerland is kept alive and constantly evolving. It is an open-access-project.
This innovative and practical approach means that the project will not only contribute to the advancement of knowledge about women’s rights in Switzerland but will also serve as a model for interdisciplinary teaching and the use of digital media in academia.