De Commune van Parijs was een revolutionaire regering die heerste over de stad Parijs van 18 maart 1871 totdat ze bloedig werd neergeslagen op 28 mei van datzelfde jaar. 'We have petrol and we have hatchets and strong hearts, and are as capable of bearing fatique as they. We will man the barricades and show them that we will no longer be trodden down ... such as still wish to fight may do so side by side with us. Women of Paris, to the Front! The women broke from their traditonal role and organised meetings to fight for political rights. Their demands were for free and comprehensive education for children of both sexes, equal pay and equal rights in the factory co-operatives, industrial schools for girls, women's workshops and day nurseries. Lenin: Women and teenage children fought in the Paris Commune side by side with the men. It will be no different in the coming battles for the overthrow of the bourgeoisie ... They will take up arms as they did in 1871.'