Sunday 30 December 2018

Sunday Snap – Votes for Women



We were in London for last week's Sunday Snap of the Art Space. I asked which museum was based at Trafalgar Square and the answer is

The National Gallery

Painting a masterpiece with the right answer were Lisa, Kara and Minoru.

This week we are going up the road again to Palace Green for another statute. As this is the last Sunday Snap of 2018 I thought it should represent one of the big anniversaries of this year and I have chosen 100 years of women's suffrage in the UK.

Pictured above is the leader of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS). She, along with her supporters, campaigned for the right of women to vote. They were known as suffragists as opposed to the more militant means used by the suffragettes. The suffragists believed that change could occur through peaceful means and continuous campaigning.

She was born in Suffolk in 1846 but was sent to London along with one of her sisters to be educated. It was this sister that went onto to become the first female doctor in the UK.

At the age of 19 she attended a speech given by the MP John Stuart Mill who was an early supporter of universal woman's suffrage and indeed gender equality. Through meeting with him she soon became acquainted with other prominent and influential activists of the time. One of these was her future husband who was M.P for Brighton. From their Cambridge home they regularly held meetings in connection with the advancement of women's education.

After her husband's untimely death in 1884 she became a widow at the age of 38. After withdrawing from public life for a number of years she became leader of the NUWSS after their previous leader Lydia Becker died in 1890. As leader she distanced herself from the rival suffrage movement led by the Pankhursts. She always maintained that changed can occur through reasoned argument without the use of violence or lawbreaking. Her efforts were rewarded with the passing the Representation of the People Act in 1918 which gave the vote to women over 30. In 1928 this was equalised by the Representation of the People Act (Equal Franchise) 1928. She attended the parliament session for the voting to see the act passed. She wrote in her diary that night, "It is almost exactly 61 years ago since I heard John Stuart Mill introduce his suffrage amendment to the Reform Bill on 20 May 1867. So I have had extraordinary good luck in having seen the struggle from the beginning." She died the following year.

This statute was unveiled in April this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Representation of the People Act 1918. She is depicted with a banner with a quote from her speech in 1920 in relation to the death of Emily Davison at the Epsom Derby. This week's question is

Who is the suffrage leader?

We were joined last week by Susan and some Christmas parties. Sara's favourite images this week include the winter Solstice and a gumdrop tree. Lisa has spotted some Christmas trees in Israel. There's been nativity performances and a visit to the pantomime for Kara. It's time for Anne to remember her Mum. Out for a winter walk has been Jo. With flowers blooming Minoru has found it is nearly springtime in Japan. Finally, Jesh has been looking at ways to relax in December.

If you want to join in with this week's Sunday Snap then add your link to the linky below. Any theme is allowed. It doesn't have to be published today as you have until 23.55 on Friday 4th January 2019 to join in. Grab my badge below for your blog post. Just make sure it is your photo and you hold the copyright for it.
Sunday Snap

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4 comments:

  1. Is it Millicent Fawcett? Thanks for hosting and Happy New Year x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think it is Emmeline Pankhurst?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is it Emmeline Pankhurst? I do feel that’s not right here though x

    ReplyDelete

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