The Suffragette Movement and What It Signifies for Today's Society

Today, February 6th, marks the Centenary of a brave battle won by true heroes of their time, in my opinion.

Women before 1918 had no right to vote and no public say in how the country should be run. This was after all archaic England with its bastion of stubborn beliefs.

It is incredulous to me that women went on hunger strikes, tied themselves to government buildings, and made public speeches in protest against powerful, elitist men. They faced arrest and even imprisonment for their tour de force movement.

               The arrest of suffragette movement leader Emilline Pankhurst

 All images used: LSELibarysets/flickr/creative commons

 A suffragette ties herself to street railings.

How far should one go to reach the goal of motivating change?

For myself, I cannot say I could have done what those women did one hundred years ago. They were deemed as criminals, but what did they do wrong? History has shown repeatedly how people are treated badly when speaking truth to power.

Yes, we women can go out and vote. We can choose. That kind of freedom should be honoured by remembering those women who gave their all for change when it wasn't that safe to speak out. Indeed the multitude who have since gone on to make this world a better place for women also merit remembrance.