Why did it Take so Much Longer for Women to Get The Vote

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Rebecca Ramsey

Why did it Take so Much Longer for Women to Get The Vote?

In the nineteenth century woman were seen as second class by men. When women got married all their belongings and possessions belonged to their husband. They were not allowed to become doctors or go to university and they weren’t able to vote in elections for parliament. As the nineteenth century progressed the government began to become a little more lenient with what women wanted. In the 1860’s they won the right to attend university, then later on in the 1870’s it was approved for women to become doctors. Although this is all good news women still wanted to be able to vote in the parliament elections.

Up till the 1903’s women had only used a calm and diplomatic approach to getting people to listen to them, for instance meetings, petitions and campaigns. Then an organisation of women formed to protest for woman to have the right to vote in the parliament elections, along with men. However, this group of women were unlike all the other women, this group were prepared to use violence. They named them selves the suffragettes, from the word suffrage, which means that all adults were able to vote in the parliament elections.

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Numerous members of The Suffragettes got themselves arrested on purpose. The Suffragettes were treated badly in prison therefore one prisoner called Marjorie Wallace Dunlop protested by going on a hunger strike. Soon after, the other Suffragettes decided to copy her. The government then decided to force feed the women but this was cruel and didn’t really get much food to the women. The prison officers would wait until the women were near to death then release them. Then when they regained health again they were put back into prison. It was known as the game of cat and mouse. They ...

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