post at the girls school. In 1897, she married , who was from her hometown and also a teacher. As they had an egalitarian marriage, Pateva and Patev agreed to help each other in their goals to attain higher education. He went abroad to study in Geneva and returned in 1899. While he was away, Pateva supported him from her earnings. When Patev returned with a doctorate in law, he supported Pateva, as she went abroad to study in 1901. She began her studies in Berlin and Jena and, in 1902, took courses in Paris, studying philosophy and sociology, as well as German, French, and Russian. Although she did not complete a degree, Pateva returned to Bulgaria in 1903, influenced by the international women's movement while away. The couple settled in Burgas and had three children during the next 16 years: Luben (known as "Leo", born 1904), Bozhan (born 1905), and Lilian (known as "Lily", born 1913). Women's rights activism (1898–1908) Pateva began her political involvement in public affairs when a law was passed by the Bulgarian National Assembly on 18 December 1898, which barred married women from engaging in the teaching profession. In protest, she wrote Отворено Писмо (Open Letter), addressing it to all the teachers in the principality and advising them to oppose the law's legitimacy. To unite women behind the cause and promote them working on other issues facing women and children, Pateva, along with Anna Karima and Julia Malinova, began organizing and, in 1901, co-founded the umbrella organization, the Bulgarian Women's Union, the first national women's organization in Bulgaria. Karima was the first chair of the organization and Pateva served on the board of directors. Despite pressure from women's groups and teachers, the law remained in effect until 1904. In 1901, Pateva began lecturing as an orator for the international women's movement for the group, Милосърдие (Charity), in Burgas and, in 1902, went to Yambol to help with the reorganization of the Развитие (Development) group. In 1903, she was elected chair of Милосърдие, but because members of the association did not want to join the Bulgarian Women's Union or expand their focus from charitable deeds, she resigned and withdrew from the organization. That year, the Women's Union faced a crisis when Karima and Malinova became embroiled in a serious dispute that eventually split the organization. Their position was that all women had similar concerns and that