Theodora, empress of Byzantium, and pioneer of women's rights

One of my passions is the suppressed history of women, and it is one of my personal objectives to make high-profile girls of all types, periods and conditions known.
The one I bring you today is exceptional in every way.
I present to you Empress Theodora of Byzantium. ????
Following the law of 80/20 Pareto (the 80% of the results come from the 20% of effort, while to achieve the other 20% of results you have to invest 80% more effort), I am not going to copy and paste what others have already worked so hard satisfactory.

Teodora has fallen into my hands eyes from a highly recommended Facebook page, Suppressed Histories Archives, in which you can read this magnificent post, in the original English or using the almendruco trick to translate the entire page in one.
You can also read this article, shorter and in perfect Spanish, or if you are more of a listener while you play around the house, this audio-only video, Theodora of Byzantium, the prostitute who became Empress. 19'12'' and more than 120,000 views. There must be a reason.
Well, and the huge ones The Compass Rose, this podcast.
What has been said: I am not going to repeat and make light of other people's things, but here I leave you a small translation of Teodora's achievements, taken from the Facebook post mentioned above.
Come and read. Flip and admire yourselves.
Kisses to all.

[…] Theodora was exploited as a young woman and… her experiences formed the basis of the reforms she would influence. She dared to express the real problems that women faced when there was no place for such ideas. I can't imagine that an all-male government would welcome her with open arms in medieval times. Still, Teodora designed real-world solutions, defined in legal terms, and made sure her ideas became laws[iii].
And he didn't mince his words. On the one hand, it attempted to protect all women from sexual abuse, regardless of whether they were rich or poor, free or slave, citizen or criminal.
Under Empress Theodora, rape was punishable by death and the property of the rapist was transferred to the rape victim[iv]. This law was applied to anyone who had been present during the rape, regardless of their position or rank. Theodora also ensured that women could own and inherit property[v], which was a great advance, since it gave daughters and wives true social power. A family's wealth could now continue through a daughter, and if a woman's husband died, the wife could claim the property and fortune. Only this greater legal recognition gave women throughout the empire real power.
[…]
With the new laws, women could no longer be forced into prostitution[vi]. If a woman voluntarily chose prostitution, but then wanted to leave it, Theodora's laws made it illegal for the brothel owner to prevent her from doing so. And Teodora carried out relentless persecution to ensure compliance with these new laws. When Teodora discovered that the brothel owners were violating the new laws by making the girls promise not to leave the brothels, she responded by declaring these oaths illegal[vii]. He arranged for the provincial governor and chief bishop to have responsibility for enforcing this law, allowing him to directly supervise a manageable number of men in high positions. He chose two men to enforce it, since if the governor himself prevented a woman from leaving a brothel, the bishop could overrule the governor. As can be seen, Theodora had once been a concubine in the service of one of these provincial governors. She knew very well the kind of power these men had over women. So he added some checks and balances. Awesome.
Theodora did not stop there. He helped revise the marriage laws of his time. These reforms must be considered revolutionary, since they broke down the most powerful class barriers.

So I hope I have whetted your appetite and that you are eager to sink your teeth into those articles, the video, or the La Rosa podcast.
More kisses, enjoy now. ????

→ Translation done with the free version of the translator www.DeepL.com/Translator —retouched, yes, in the same application, but the bulk of the translation has been done with DeepL. The rod, the DeepL.

Picture of Angela Cuevas Alcañiz
Angela Cuevas Alcañiz

Stories are everywhere, they surround us. In the end, we all become stories.

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