Italy occupied the Dodecanese Islands in May 1912, during the Italo-Turkish War. The fact that the islands were relieved from Ottoman Rule, combined with Italy’s declarations on the provisional nature of this occupation, fostered hope among the population of the Dodecanese that the much-desired union with Greece would finally come to fruition. Those hopes were expressed on 17 June 1912 in Patmos with the proclamation of the “Autonomous State of the Aegean”.
The incorporation of the Dodecanese Islands to The rough road of the Dodecanese Islands towards their incorporation to Greek territory.
The feminist activities of the time comprise a wide range of publications and demonstrations, public gatherings, exhibitions, debates, meetings to coordinate feminist action, film sessions, music events, excursions. Through these activities, the feminists are attempting -and will manage- to acquire a distinct political presence.
Towards the end of the 1980s, feminist demands had achieved considerable success. At the institutional level, the laws on equality had steeped into the legal culture of Greece, despite some remaining inequalities under the applicable legal framework. Discriminatory behaviours against women -when identified- acquired a rather social character. The feminism of the period of transition to democracy (Metapolitefsi) managed to identify discriminatory behaviours and to link them with the dominance relationships between men and women.
Following the restoration of democracy, the structure of the female movement became quite diverse. Women’s organisations whose operation was interrupted due to the military junta or suspended as a reaction to the junta were reestablished. The Greek League for Women’s Rights (Syndesmos gia ta Dikaiomata ton Gynaikon/SDG) is an illustrative example. The SDG was founded in 1974 and participated actively in women’s activities during the period 1974-1990.
After the collapse of the military junta in 1974 and during the period of transition to democracy (Metapolitefsi), new collective subjects emerge in the public policy sphere actively claiming their political visibility. For the first time in Greece - as is the case elsewhere in the western world- young women appear to be determined to explore the overall landscape of power in gender relationships and to struggle for their emancipation. In this context, the political discourses and practices of the feminists acquire a rather radical content.
The history of women’s demands is long. In the mid-19th century, demands for a better position of women through education start being voiced. The interventions of women in the public sphere are mainly expressed -at first sporadically and then systematically- through publications and articles in the first women’s journals (Kypseli, Thaleia, Eurydice).
The history of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens is inextricably linked with the history of the Greek society. Named “Othonian”, “National” and “National and Kapodistrian”, the University of Athens has always been at the centre of public life and is among the institutions that had the most significant impact on the establishment of the Greek State.
