The Women’s Suffrage Movement
Today, all citizens, living in Northern Ireland, over the age of eighteen share a fundamental
human right: the right to vote and to have a voice in the democratic process. One hundred
years ago, women in Great Britain and Ireland were not allowed to vote. The Suffrage
Movement fought for the right for women to vote and to run for office. This Movement
united women from all social, economic, political and religious backgrounds who shared
the same goal.
The Representation of the People Act in 1832 was led through Parliament by Lord Grey.
This legislation, known as the Great Reform Act excluded women from voting because it
used the word ‘male’ instead of ‘people’. The first leaflet promoting the Suffrage
Movement was published in 1847 and Suffrage societies began to emerge across the
country. In 1867, Isabella Tod, who lived in Belfast established the Ladies’ Institute to
promote women’s education. She travelled throughout Ireland addressing meetings about
Women’s Suffrage.
Frustrated by their social and economic situation, Lydia Becker led the formation of the
Manchester National Society for Women’s Suffrage (NSWS) in 1867. In 1868, Richard
Pankhurst, an MP and lawyer from Manchester, made a new attempt to win voting rights
for women. While he was unsuccessful, his wife and daughter, Emmeline and Christabel,
go on to become two of the most important figures in the movement.
In 1897 the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) was established and
Millicent Garrett Fawcett was elected as its President. Between 1866 and1902 peaceful
activities by NUWSS and others societies led to numerous petitions, bills and resolutions
going before the House of Commons. All were rejected.
Angered by no sign of reform, the leading campaigners of the Suffrage Movement took
matters into their own hands. The Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) (its
members soon became nicknamed the Suffragettes) held its inaugural meeting. The
Union could only be joined by women. It declared that the situation was so worrying it had
no choice but to pursue extreme measures of disobedience. This marked a new phase in
the battle to win the right to vote. ‘Deeds not Words’ and ‘Votes for Women’ were adopted
as campaign slogans. The WSPU was skilful at using the media for maximum impact.
Women began chaining themselves to railings, and within five years the campaign had
extended to smashing windows and setting fire to the contents of letter-boxes. From 1908
the WSPU adopted the colour scheme of purple, white and green: purple symbolised
dignity, white purity, and green hope. On important lecture tours Emmeline Pankhurst
wore a purple dress lined with green, a necklace of amethysts, pearls and emeralds, and
her silver prison badge with her prison cell number, H24, engraved on it.
In October 1905, Christabel Pankhurst and Annie Kennedy were the first Suffragettes to
be jailed. They disrupted a Liberal Party rally at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall and
Christabel spat in a policeman’s face. They were imprisoned after they refused to pay
their fines. Sylvia Pankhurst designed a little portcullis brooch which was presented to
each suffragette on her release from prison. Hundreds of women wore this with pride.
New Zealand gave women the right to vote but not to stand for election in 1893, while all
Australian women bar Aborigines were given the right to vote and stand in federal but not
state elections in 1902. On 1 June 1906, Finland's parliament extended full political rights
not only to women but also to all men, rather than an elite few. Switzerland granted
women the vote in 1971 and the Kuwaiti Parliament voted to give women full political rights
in 2005.
Today, there are still women in the world who are not able to vote. In September 2011,
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia announced reforms which would allow
women to vote. However this will not come into effect until 2015. In Saudi Arabia women
are still not allowed to drive. While there is no written law, religious clerics have forbidden
it and authorities do not issue driving licences to women. Women in Saudi Arabia need
the permission of a male guardian before they can travel outside the country. The
"guardianship" system also prevents women from doing a range of day-to-day activities,
such as opening a bank account or accessing healthcare, without the permission of a male
family member or husband.
In the House of Commons in the UK, only 22.5% of Members of Parliament are women. In
Ireland, the percentage of female Teachtaí Dála in the Dáil Éireann is only 15.1%. In the
Northern Ireland Assembly, there are 21 female Members of the Legislative Assembly.
This equates to 19.4%. In Qatar, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and
Vanuatu there are no female Members of Parliament. However, in Rwanda, women hold a
slight majority with 56.3% female representatives.