Women's Suffrage was the one of the most ardent issues in the 'First Wave' feminism of 'Women's rights movement'. Women's Suffrage movement in England started at 1860s and progressed through 1928 when the Equal Citizenship Act was passed. This thesis ...
Women's Suffrage was the one of the most ardent issues in the 'First Wave' feminism of 'Women's rights movement'. Women's Suffrage movement in England started at 1860s and progressed through 1928 when the Equal Citizenship Act was passed. This thesis profoundly studied the years from 1897 when a nation-wide organization called NUWSS(National Union of Women's suffrage Societies) was formed, to 1928 when women finally got an equal right to vote.
Suffragist's demand to their right was directly related to the unequal situation that women were experiencing. Under their suffragism, there was an intention to challenge the inequality between men and women which was spreaded throughout the society including one political right.
Based on their suffragism, women's suffrage movement showed various class spectrum. Especially, NUWSS was involving women from labour to middle class. Lobbying and election campaign were their main strategies, and because of their moderate tactics, they were called 'constitutionalists'. NUWSS was the most influential organization in gaining women's suffrage. WSPU(Women's Social and Political Union)was an organization that used radical tactics to pressure the Government to give the right to vote to women. Because of the radical, militant tactics they had used, they were called the 'militants'. Their violent tactics resulted them to maintain their voice in the middle of political disputes. They also destroyed the prejudice about women being fragile. Although their militant tactics did not 'directly' influence women's suffrage to be included in the legislation, the movement should not be underestimated. WFL(Women's Freedom League) and ELFS(East London Federation of Suffragettes) showed that the issues concerning 'women' and 'labors' could not be separated of confronted since they were closely related to labour women while demanding for the women's suffrage.
In 1914 World War I highly influenced the women's suffrage movement and it was an important factor for partial success. During the war, political obstacles of women's suffrage were removed and the antis were not able to oppose any more that women couldn't join with political sphere, as the antis saw women were not just fragile and delicate in war time.
Although the war was an important factor in gaining suffrage, the contribution of women's suffrage organizations to gain suffrage couldn't be disregarded. The fact that women's suffrage proposal was core part of electoral reform in 1917 should be highly acknowledged as the campaign of women's suffrage movement organization, including NUWSS's lobbying since 1916, had succeeded.
In 1918, women over age 30 finally gained the right to vote, and soon women's suffrage movement had lost their ardor. Organizations turned to other women's issues, but didn't abandon the suffrage issue. After all, they obtained "the Parliamentary Franchise for women on the same terms as it is or may be granted to men".
Women's suffrage movement changed in women's position and consciousness. Suppressed 'sex discrimination' issue was discussed at public sphere like parliament, street, speech.
In that process, it was disclosed that England society was moved by not only basis of class, but also basis of sex discrimination. Thus, women determinedly insisted on that society based on sex discrimination had to be changed. Although Women's suffrage movement had struggled for one political right, it gave a vision to women to other rights to women and it helped women to prospect new life.