The issue of women's liberation as an ethical and political problem in John Stuart Mill

This study examines John Stuart Mill's approach to the issue of women's liberation in the context of his ethical and political ideas. Mill approached the problems of his time in general and the issue of women's freedom in particular in line with his utilitarian and liberal views, and offered analyses and solutions that we think still retain their value today in many respects. Mill thought that many laws in his country, England, and especially the laws that lead to inequality between the sexes, constitute an obstacle to the general happiness and welfare of society and therefore must be changed. In this context, a fundamental concept that we should definitely pay attention to in Mill's political thought is freedom. Mill, who thinks that the happiness and progress of society can only be realised on the condition of freedom, argues that women must also be liberated in order to achieve this condition. On the other hand, since he conceives freedom as a value that is only possible on the basis of the principle of absolute equality, he argues that such liberation requires the establishment of equality between the sexes. Keywords: John Stuart Mill, utilitarianism, liberalism, freedom, equality between the sexes, feminism.