Paris ends ban on women in pants

4 Feb 2013, 11:30 am   -   Source: AAP
Share This
0 
+ Comment
1
The restriction came during the upheaval following the French Revolution when the 'sans culottes' movement - French revolutionary rebels - refused to wear knee-breeches and chose to wear pants, Le Parisien said. (File: AAP)

The restriction came during the upheaval following the French Revolution when the 'sans culottes' movement - French revolutionary rebels - refused to wear knee-breeches and chose to wear pants, Le Parisien said. (File: AAP)

A 200-year-old law forbidding women in Paris from wearing trousers in public has been revoked by France's minister of women's rights.

France's minister of women's rights Najat Vallaud-Belkacem has revoked a 200-year-old law that forbids Parisian women wearing trousers in public.

"This law is incompatible with the principles of equality between men and women which is laid out in the constitution and in France's European commitments," she said, Le Parisien reported.

The law meant that women could be arrested by police for wearing trousers in Paris.

The decree, which was not widely applied, was amended at the turn of the century to allow trousers only "if the woman is holding a bicycle handlebar or the reins of a horse," the UK Telegraph reported.

The law was passed on November 7, 1799.

The restriction came during the upheaval following the French Revolution when the "sans culottes" movement - French revolutionary rebels - refused to wear knee-breeches and chose to wear pants, Le Parisien said.

Women had strict restrictions on their clothing before and after the revolution.

  • Follow us: 
  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Youtube

Your Comments

wow, u believable!!

democracy? - from Melbourne, 4 months ago

democracy, who needs it?!

Join the Discussion

Name
City / Suburb E.g. Artarmon, Sydney
Title
Comment
You have characters remaining.
Validation
What's this?
This is a captcha-picture. It is used to prevent mass-access by robots.
All submitted comments become the property of SBS. They are moderated, so we reserve the right to edit comments and remove HTML tags. Not all submitted comments will be published. Publication does not mean we endorse the opinions expressed. Please read our terms and conditions for more information.