There were many women such as Caroline Norton who had a bad marriage and their husbands accused them off things which they have done or haven’t done and took them to court, and if it wasn’t true or if it was true they could get away with their children, the women’s possession and money. When women wanted a divorce they would have to go to the House of Lords and pay also to get the divorce, which was a slow and expensive process.
Caroline Norton led a campaign to get herself and others justice. It all came in 1857, The Matrimonial Causes Act set up a simpler and cheaper way or getting divorced were cases were taken to a special court. Women could bring divorce cases against their husbands for cruelty, desertion and adultery but it was still unfair because for a man to bring a divorce case to court he had to prove 1 out of 3 reasons and a woman had to prove 2 out of 3 reasons.
In 1870 The Married Woman’s Property Act was made which allowed women to keep their own income and property after they married which now led to quick reform,
In 1886 The Guardianship Of Infants Act allowed women to be their children’s legal guardians if their fathers dies. Being the legal guardian meant having responsibility for any property left to the children as well as seeing they were properly looked after.
In 1870 it was essential schooling for all boys and girls under the age of 10 years old. In 1880 a law was passed to force parents to send their children to school. If the w omen wanted to have equal rights as men they would have to compete and go to university but sadly the campaign for women to go to university was a slow and gradual one. There were many women getting denied jobs, which men used to do but slowly they started getting them but they had to go through a lot before they got it like dressing up as men and many other ways.
Women needed more confidence to get the vote so they needed role models to guide them to stand against their oppressors and a great person who did that was Florence Nightingale, who nursed in Crimea and set up nurses training colleges in Britain and improved hospitals. The most important out of all was Queen Victoria who was a women but also the Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Empire.
To conclude I think that women suffrage developed in the years after 1870 because of all women were not involved in the franchise, they were treated unfairly in the laws and at work, there husbands treated them unfairly, women get more confidant and involved and role models gave them ore confidence so they could fight off their oppressors. Women wanted to forward their opinions and influence mainly lawmakers but mainly wanted to stand for their rights.