Emancipation

Emancipation means becoming free and equal; the term can be used in various contexts:

• historically, a slave becoming free by
  • being set free by the owner (manumission), voluntarily or in accordance with laws requiring it after a certain time or in certain cases, thereby becoming freedman
  • abolition of slavery
• equal rights for races, as opposed to racism
• women's liberation, as opposed to sexism
• gay liberation
• a child becoming an adult by reaching the age concerned
• animal rights, as opposed to speciesism

See also Self-determination.