Women and the Vote

 

The First World War was a breakthrough for women’s rights, especially their right to vote. As most men were away fighting in the war, jobs traditionally given to men were done by women. By 1918 women over the age of 30 were given the vote. The campaign for women to vote had been going on for a few decades and a world war was just what the campaign needed to show that women could do the same jobs as men and thus have the same rights as men. The campaign was not only for the right to vote but for other rights, which included the right for women to divorce their husbands, the right to an education, and the right to have jobs that were male dominated.  The Representation of the People Act 1918 gave women the vote over the age of 30 and was extended to all women over the age of 21 in 1928. During the 1914-18 war work done by women was used by those who support women’s votes as an example to show that women deserve the vote. This argument was used to show that women could go to war. However, only women who were homeowners over 30 had the right to vote.

The National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies founded in 1897 by English writer and feminist Millicent Fawcett played a major role in getting the vote for women in 1918. The group was formed of mainly middle-class women. Another major group in this period was The Women’s Social and Political Union which was founded in 1903 and led by Emmeline Pankhurst. This was a group also of middle-class women whose protests included heckling politicians, breaking windows, attacking policemen, setting fire to buildings, protest marches, chaining themselves to railings, throwing homemade bombs, hunger strike in prison for members convicted of crimes and other attacks and acts of crime. One member of this group Emily Davison was killed at the Epsom Derby of 1913, when she ran in front of the King’s horse, Anmer. The Derby was attended by an estimated 500,000 people including King George V and his wife, Queen Mary of Teck. Women were likely given the vote to stop all the violence by some of the more extreme suffragettes.

Below is a table of some of the arguments made for and against women voting at the time of the debate on votes for women.

FOR	AGAINST
Women are equal before God.	A woman’s place is in the home and not in the world of politics which is against their caring nature.
Women vote in local elections.	Most women will not use their vote even if they had the right to vote.
Women pay taxes.	Women do not fight in wars.
Some women are better citizens than men.	Most women are ignorant of political matters.
Other nations have given women the vote (such as Finland and Norway).	Intelligent women would not stand for election, but only violent suffragettes and ruin parliament.

Not all women involved in the campaign for votes and other rights approved of the mindless violence of the Women’s Social and Political Union. The East London Federation of Suffragettes formed in 1914 by Sylvia Pankhurst focused mainly on social reform and rejected violence as a way forward.

On 29th January 1913 several letter bombs were sent to Chancellor, David Lloyd George and Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith. Fortunately, all exploded before reaching their intended target or were discovered while in transit. This was one of many acts of violence that led the government to take serious action against the suffragettes. They also set fire to post boxes which caused great issues in an age before computers and the internet. Isaiah 3:12 says, “O My people! Their oppressors are children, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray And confuse the direction of your paths.” The Bible teaches that it is a curse on a nation and people to have women and children rule over them. According to the verse in Isaiah it is a judgment from God to have a woman ruling over a nation. For more information and reading on this topic read, The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstruous Regiment of Women by John Knox.

In 1979 Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. At the time the country needed strong leadership and she was given as a judgment on the weak men of the British Parliament in the 1980s. She was called the Iron Lady as she was a strong leader, much stronger than the men who were in her government. Thatcher rarely gave government positions to women. Love her or hate her Thatcher was a strong leader and made a great impact on British culture and society. I for one believe that she was one of the best Prime Minister’s the UK ever had. The lesson of history here is if men fail to be good and strong leaders God will cause women to rule in their stead.