As was the case in Latvia, women's rights had been a subject of public debate in the press since the 1880s, mainly in connection to the nationalism.
As in the other Baltic countries however, no political organizations could exist prior to the introduction of Parliamentatism in Russia in 1905.
The Tartu Eesti Naesterahva Selts was formed to raise women's economical, moral and educational opportunities.
Its leading members were Leena Gross, Lilli Muna and Marie Reisik.
Women in Russia and thus also in Estonia, which was then a part of Russia, were given suffrage, encouraged to join political parties and ran in the upcoming elections, and the Tartu Eesti Naesterahva Selts formed a political chapter.