77

From 1900 onwards, Universités Populaires (popular universities, PU), similar to those in France, started to pop up in Belgium. They were designed to cater for the growing social aspirations of the working class. Women were fully involved in this process right from the beginning, creating, developing and organising these PU. The education of adult women was seen as important, although it often involved a traditional view of the social roles expected of men and women. However, most PUs invited female speakers onto their podiums. These included some well-known feminists. Almost all were trained by Isabelle Gatti de Gamond. They continued their higher education at the Université Libre de Bruxelles and were affiliated to existing feminist associations. Their input in the PU was political and cultural, the aim being to share a common awareness of the unequal status of women in society and their justified feminist demands with a wide audience.