Did you know? (Part 1)

..that I am a Freemason? And yes, I am a girl! Thanks for noticing.

"But how can YOU be a Freemason?" is a question I get asked quite frequently.

Well, for those that ask, my answer to you is "because I can..." And here's why...

Maria Deraismes, born August 17, 1828; died February 6, 1894. She was a french author and major pioneering force for women's rights. Born in Paris, Maria grew up in Pontoise in the city's northwest outskirts.

From a prosperous middle class family, she was well educated and raised in a literary environment that led to her authoring several literary works but soon developed a reputation as a very capable communicator. She became active in promoting women's rights and, in 1866, joine the Societe de le revendication des droits de la femme, a feminist organization advancing the cause of education for women.

In 1869, she founded L'Association pour le droit femmes with Leon Richer. Following the ouster of Napoleon III, she understood the new politics of the day meant a more moderate approach under the Third Republic in order for feminism to survive and not be marginalized by the new breed of male power brokers emerging at the time. Deraismes work brought her recognition in Great Britain and an influence upon American activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton who met her in Paris in 1882 following Deraismes breakthrough membership in the Freemasons.

A year later, she and Georges Martin organized the first Masonic lodge in the world to allow both men and women as members. Maria Deraismes was initiated on January 14, 1882 into Lodge "Les Libres Penseurs" of Pecq, a small village to the west of Paris. She was the first female Freemason, symbolizing initiatory equality. Eleven years later, on April 4, 1893, Maria Deraismes and Georges Martin, a well known mason, created in Paris the first co-masonic Lodge. Out of this co-masonic Lodge came the birth of the Grande Lodge Symbolique Ecossaise "Le Droit Humain," establishing the equality of men and women, out of which, later, came the birth of the International Order of Co-Masonry "LE DROIT HUMAIN."

With other support of Suffragettes such as Hubertine Auclert, Maria Seraismes worked to achieve political emancipation for women, standing as a symbolic candidate in the elections of 1885. On her death in 1894, Maria Derismes was interred in the Cimetiere de Montmartre. Her complete writings were published in 1895 and much information on her work can be found at the Bibliotheque Marguerite Durand in Paris. To honor her memory, a street in Paris was named for her and a statue was erected in a small park. The town square in St. Nazaire was also named in her honor.

The International Order of Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain is a global Masonic Order, membership of which is available to men and women on equal terms, regardless of nationality, religion or ethnicity.

The Order is founded on the ancient teachings and traditions of Freemasonry, using Masonic ritual and symbolism as its tools in the search for truth. On the individual level, the Order aims "to promote the progress of individual worth, without the imposition of dogma, or exacting the abandonment of cultural or religious ideas."

On a collective level it works "to unite men and women who agree on a humanist spirituality whilst respecting individual and cultural differences." In contrast with out Masonic organizations, which operate in national or state jurisdiction only. Le Droit Humain is a global fraternity with many Federations and Jurisdictions worldwide, each of which work the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite from the 1st to the 33rd degree.

...stay tuned for Part 2....and for more information on Co-Masonry click here.