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Professor Mary Beard speaks in favour of Mary Wollstonecraft.

Viewed by many as the "mother of feminism". In 1792 she wrote her great work, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which she extended the Enlightenment idea of the "rights of man" to women and laid the groundwork for women's liberation. She stressed the importance of education and female autonomy. "Strengthen the female mind by enlarging it", she said, "and there will be an end to blind obedience." Although her revolutionary views led her to be dubbed "a hyena in petticoats", she continued to intrigue and inspire generations that followed.

On Wednesday 16th June Jenni Murray hosted a live debate at ´óÏó´«Ã½ Broadcasting House, where four advocates tried to persuade a 300-strong studio audience that the individual whose cause they were championing has done the most to give women a voice in British politics.