Le Droit Humain
Le Droit Humain is an international Masonic order admitting women and men on equal terms. Its origins lie in a mixed lodge established in Paris in 1893 by Maria Deraismes, Georges Martin and their colleagues. The British Federation uses the name International Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women – Le Droit Humain.[1][2]
Origins in France
Deraismes, a writer and campaigner for women's rights, became a Freemason at Les Libres Penseurs lodge in Le Pecq on 14 January 1882. Admission of women remained disputed, and her membership did not establish a generally accepted right of entry into existing Masonic bodies. On 4 April 1893, Deraismes and Martin helped found the new mixed lodge in Paris.[1]
After Deraismes's death in 1894, Martin and the other founders continued its development. The French Federation's history dates the international reorganisation to 1901. A convention in Paris in 1920 brought representatives from different countries together to establish an international constitution.[3]
Annie Besant and Britain
Annie Besant joined the order in Paris in 1902. She became the first presiding officer of Human Duty Lodge No. 6, inaugurated in London on 26 September that year. Francesca Arundale helped connect Besant with the French organisation. Besant's work in The Theosophical Society formed part of her wider public career; her Masonic activity helped establish lodges in Britain and elsewhere in the British Empire.[2][3]
Organisation and principles
The order has an international Supreme Council in Paris and national federations operating within its constitution. Its degree system extends from Craft Freemasonry through the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. The British Federation describes freedom of interpretation, tolerance and equal admission of women and men as principles of its work, without requiring adherence to a particular religious creed.[2]
Mixed membership distinguishes Le Droit Humain from the British women's Grand Lodges described in Women and Freemasonry. Their histories intersect: the organisation later known as the Order of Women Freemasons began when members left Co-Masonry in 1908, initially forming another mixed body before restricting admission to women.[4]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Le Droit Humain, Histoire du Droit Humain (in French). Accessed 24 September 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Le Droit Humain, British Federation, About us. Accessed 24 September 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Le Droit Humain, French Federation, Notre histoire (in French), especially the sections on the first mixed lodge and international development. Accessed 24 September 2026.
- ↑ The Order of Women Freemasons, Our History. Accessed 24 September 2026.
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