Women’s right to vote, a hundred years on
In her new spoken word piece Bridget Minamore addresses the women still left behind by Britain’s voting system, a hundred years after gaining the right to vote.
Tomorrow, December 14th marks the 100th anniversary of the first UK general election where women were allowed to vote.
The election was called immediately after the Armistice with Germany which ended the First World War in 1918. Earlier in the year the more than 80-year-old suffrage movement achieved its first victory – the vote was granted to women over 30, albeit only to those who owned property, were married to a property owner, had a university education, or were married to someone in local government.
This meant 8.5 million women became eligible to vote, but it would take a further 11 years for all women to have that right, regardless of property or status.
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Poet and journalist Bridget Minamore has created a spoken word piece about this part of history and about the voting rights of women of colour and working-class women today.
She draws parallels between the classist system of the early 20th century and current rules, highlighting that those without a permanent address, who have immigration issues, are living in refuges or are imprisoned are unable to vote, and that austerity is a feminist issue too, with many working women unrepresented by political parties and “girl boss drives.”
See more of Bridget’s work here