A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
 With Strictures on Political and Moral Subjects

by Mary Wollstonecraft

"A Vindication of the Rights of Woman" by Mary Wollstonecraft is a feminist essay written in 1792. Wollstonecraft argues that women deserve rational education and fundamental rights equal to men. Responding to eighteenth-century theorists who advocated only domestic education for women, she challenges the view of women as ornaments or property. Instead, she insists women are human beings who should be companions to their husbands and educated contributors to society. This groundbreaking work attacks double standards and launched debates about women's rights that influenced movements for decades to come.