What did the Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen proclaim regarding equality?

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen, adopted during the French Revolution in 1789, emphasized the concept of equality primarily in the context of rights among men. It states that "men are born and remain free and equal in rights," highlighting the belief that all men possess the same rights by virtue of being human. This laid the groundwork for future developments concerning civil rights and legal equality.

While the Declaration aimed to establish a framework of equality and human rights, it predominantly focused on the rights of men and did not extend the same declaration of rights to women at that time. The rights enumerated were reflective of a patriarchal society and could not be interpreted as proclaiming that men and women are equal in rights. Thus, the emphasis is primarily on the equality of all men, rather than a broader interpretation that includes women.

This specific focus on the equality of men laid the foundation for subsequent discussions and movements advocating for universal suffrage and gender equality, but the original text itself was limited.