The Female Suffrage
As men joined the war effort women were prompted to take their place at the home front in many respects. As hundreds of thousands of women were now involved in war effort industries they were still being denied perhaps the most important right as a citizen; The Vote. British female activists felt at loss as the government continued to refuse women suffrage. It was widely interpreted that the denial was mainly due to fear of losing male voters and upsetting the hierarchical system in place at the time. The National Union of Women’s Suffrage was founded in 1897 by Millicent Fawcett, this first introduced the concept of female voting equality in England and helped shape the Suffragettes formed by Emmeline Pankhurst for the 20th century.
Pankhurst and the Suffragettes believed that their opinions should no longer be smothered by an oppressive male voting class. Although, as the country entered into World War One the activists put their campaigns on hold as they believed it was the utmost importance to unify to do what was best for the country. One day after Britain declared war on Germany (6th August 1914) an article published in the women’s suffrage newspaper Common Cause stated that: “In the midst of this time of terrible anxiety and grief, it is some little comfort to think that our large organisation, which has been completely built up during past years to promote women’s suffrage, can be used to help our country through the period of strain and sorrow” Women eventually received the vote in 1918 although it was only a partial victory, as only women over 30 were given the right, leaving them still outnumbered in the electoral system. Although, the Eligibility of Women Act was passed in November 1918 which meant that women could now be elected as members of parliament. This potentially was the most significant achievement. There is much debate amongst historians of the core reason to why women did achieve the vote during the War. Some claim that many politicians were impressed by the ‘mature attitudes’ of women during the war, and the vote was a ‘reward’ for the hard work they took on whilst the men were away. Others claim that there was a fear that women may start aggressive activities following the war, causing more casualties if their right to vote was not received. Or it could be granted that the hard work from female activists over time had really achieved their own triumph. |
"We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we
are here in our efforts to become law-makers " - Emmeline Pankhurst |