Following on from my post yesterday
on the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 6th
February 1918, I’ve been going through my books on suffragettes and read about
letters exchanged between women on their reactions to the Act being passed into
law. Many were pleased because they felt that if some could vote, soon all
women would be able to do so. However, it took another decade before this was a
reality, which is why some were not so happy with the clauses in the Act
because it still excluded many women eg those under 30, those who didn’t meet
the property requirements, etc. Sylvia Pankhurst and others had wanted votes
for all women, not just for some.
Today, I want to focus on two 7th
February letters1, celebrating that some women had been given the
vote. These letters have been kept at the Women’s Library in London, UK.
1: Ida Beatrice O’Malley wrote to
Lady Strachey, overjoyed that at least some women now had the chance to vote.
What I find particularly striking and touching is how she conveys her feelings
of delight and almost disbelief at what had been achieved, both legally and on
a practical level. I hope her words inspire women to vote every time and
remember the history behind it and not take it for granted but really relish
the freedom to participate in politics. She writes:
“Isn’t it glorious! It seems impossible to believe that Women’s Suffrage
is now a law of the land, but we shall believe it when we are walking into the
Polling Station…”2
2: In Catherine E. Marshall’s
letter to Millicent Garrett Fawcett, we see a similar sentiment of joy and
appreciation of freedom and justice, the significance of fighting for these values
and what is gained by doing so:
“….looking backwards, that the process of this struggle in itself gave us
experience….which ought to prove almost as valuable as the actual gain of the
vote itself. It taught us, as perhaps nothing else could have taught us, the
real value of liberty & the disastrous results of its denial. It ought to
have given us a deep insight into, & sympathy with, the sufferings of all
who are oppressed & denied justice & an understanding of the difficulties
of all minorities seeking to alter their status quo.”3
So, fittingly, today, MP’s on the
front benches on both sides of the House of Commons wore the 50/50 Parliament
lapel pins in support of equality in Parliament, in honour of the Suffragettes’
achievement 100 years ago. I think this is a great idea. Perhaps we should all
be wearing these pins to say there should be ‘equal seats, equal say’ to create
an inclusive gender balanced Parliament. For more on this see:
1 Hawksley, L. (2013) ‘March,
Women, March’, Andre Deutsch Limited, Carlton Publishing Group.
2Ibid p231
3Ibid p232-3
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