Pioneering Czech women are the subject of a new English-language walking tour

A new walking tour in Prague is bringing attention to the pioneering female figures who helped advance women's rights in the Czech lands. French expat Averil Huck's Prague Feminist Tour, which debuted in August of this year, explores landmarks and historical sites through the lens of gender emancipation.

"The idea of the project is to look at our beloved city from a gender perspective: who are the women who fought for Czech women's rights? By whom and for whom is the city designed? These are a few of the questions we're addressing during the walking tour," Huck, a licensed tour guide, said in an email. The tours are available in English and French (on request).

So what does a French feminist know about women's rights in Czechia? It turns out a lot. Huck spent three years working at The National Contact Point for Gender & Science at the Institute of Sociology of the Czech Academy of Science. Her cooperation with the institute began as an internship while obtaining her master's degree in gender studies at a university in France.

"I've worked on different European projects on the topics of gender equality in research and science and on sexual harassment in universities as part of the UniSAFE project," she said.

It was at the academy that she became acquainted with some of the historic figures featured on the tour as well as the notion that the historic achievements of Czech women continue to go unrecognized. (Fun fact: less than 5 percent of Prague streets named for individuals are named for women.)

The three-hour tour, which focuses on activists and reformers from the 19th and early 20th centuries, highlights prominent figures such as author Karolina Světlá and Eliška Krásnohorská as well as suffragist Františka Plamínková and dissident Milada Horáková.

But unsung heroes are honored as well, among them, Ludmila Bozděchová, the first woman to work as a telegraph operator in the Czech post office during the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

From the National Theatre to Wenceslas Square and Old Town Square Huck shares details on the campaigns these women led for education reform, women's suffrage, and other progressive causes.

Huck says she drew inspiration for the tours from a similar initiative in Lyon, France called Filactions. She hopes illuminating Prague's female heritage, will inspire greater gender diversity in how the city remembers its history.

"Our rights as women is a neverending struggle. This tour isn't only for tourists who come and visit Prague but also for people who live here, students, and high school teachers. It's really about education and also from a foreigner's perspective it's important to learn about the place where you live."

In the future, Huck is developing an LGBTQ+ tour, and, if there's interest, offering the original tour in the Czech language. She says that while a similar tour exists in Brno the tours given in the Czech capital about women's history are usually associated with special events or anniversaries. She believes hers is the first in English.

Through sharing these untold stories, the feminist tours aim to foster a new appreciation for the pioneering Czech feminists who fought for ideals of equal opportunity and inclusion. For more on the tour, including bookings, see praguefeministtours.com.