The correct answer is (C) setting free (or being set free), particularly from slavery, legal disabilities, political or moral fetters, or social restraints. The act of emancipating, or the state or fact of being emancipated.

Emancipation comes from French émancipation, Latin emancipationem.

Examples of use:

• The emancipation of women has not even begun in some areas of the world.
• Desire for profit was a factor in delaying the emancipation of the slaves.