Most people in those primitive times thought these laws were right, not like our freethinking society today, where everyone is respected for who they are. Even conservative people are beginning to accept the fact that women will have equal rights in the future.
In 1867, when John Stuart Mill, an MP and Harriet Taylor’s husband, suggested giving votes to women, 73 MP’s agreed with this notion. This was an encouraging sign for women, who had been waiting for some support from the government, who then formed many women’s suffrage societies (almost 500 of them). These came together to form the NUWSS (National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies) in 1897, led by Millicent Fawcett (1847-). Millicent Fawcett was a suffragist from the beginning. She has seen and been through a lot in her 47 years of campaigning so far, including the death of her blind husband, the bringing together of hundreds of suffrage societies and many, many disappointments. She has waited many years for a Bill of Equal Rights, and she is still waiting. Her unwavering faith in the movement is legendary, and she is the inspiration for many young women tired of being oppressed by men.
Another major leader of women suffrage was Caroline Norton. She was among the first to actually achieve something major. She was often abused by her violent husband, whom she married in 1827 and who had the right to abuse her and take all the money she got from her best-selling books. And she couldn’t divorce him unless she proved he was unfaithful. When her husband left and took her children away from her, she started campaigning and finally, in 1839, the Custody of Infants Act was passed, which gave mothers legal custody of children under 7, as long as the woman had not committed adultery.
The most prominent figure in women suffrage is Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-). She was born into a middle class family, but became a suffragette because she thought that the government was acting too slowly and the MP’s would do nothing until pressured. So she went on to form the WSPU (Women’s Social and Political Union) in 1903. Even though she was a middle class woman, she cared about the rights of the working classes, and especially the women in workhouses, where the homeless were sent to work. These places still exist, but the conditions are much improved, thanks to Mrs. Pankhurst and her daughter, Christabel. Their widely distributed magazine, The Suffragette, is basically a political instrument for achieving equal rights for women, but has been very successful so far. Mrs. Pankhurst first used violence in 1907 in a political meeting, after she began to think that non-violent actions weren’t working. Some newspapers, unlike ours, refused to publish letters that advocated voted for women. So the WSPU, headed by Mrs. Pankhurst, started resorting to violence. She called this direct action, and for this she was arrested many times over the last few years.
The government was noticeably worried, even though the suffragettes were hurting their cause rather than supporting it. They were worried because the suffragettes were employing the now-famous hunger-strike method. When a suffragette was arrested, she stopped eating, and she was released from prison, so then she was free to continue with her activities. The suffragettes and the Government started playing a cat and mouse game, where the suffragette was released from prison until she was fit again, then she was promptly put back in prison. The suffragette then went on hunger strike again. This continued until the Government came up with a plan. They didn’t want the suffragettes to die in prison and draw attention onto themselves by being called martyrs. So they developed a method of force-feeding the prisoners. The suffragette was often beaten into submission, and then food and liquid was forced into her through her mouth or nose. This was humiliating to say the least, and the suffragettes suffered badly at the hands of the prison wardens.
The Government was also worried because the MP’s thought that if they gave in to suffragette demands, they would also have to give in to the Irish, who wanted Home Rule, and the demands of workers who wanted higher pay. And the violent methods employed by the suffragettes were increasingly unpopular with MPs, and this meant that more and more of them voted against bills that gave women better rights in the home or anywhere. So the suffragettes were wielding a double-edged sword and they’d just cut off their own arm.
However, the biggest blow to the 2 movements (suffragettes and suffragists) came when the Conciliation Bill failed to be passed 3 years ago, even after gaining a majority. The suffragists and suffragettes were furious, but they showed their anger in very different ways. The suffragists decided to support the Labour Party at the next election, as they were the only ones that supported women suffrage. They organised peaceful pilgrimages and demonstrations, while the suffragettes resorted to violence. The suffragettes were thrown in prison, and their stories of force-feeding gained them huge public support. The Government then passed a new Act earlier this year that allowed hunger strikers to leave prison and then return to complete their sentence. This was called the Cat and Mouse Act.
And just earlier this month came the tragedy that shook us all. Emily Davison was much loved by her friends and she will be missed. This was a tribute to her and her sisters of battle. She will be remembered as a martyr and an inspiration for them all.
