For the Future: Emmeline Pankhurst's Vision for Women's Rights

In this episode I delve into the life and legacy of Emmeline Pankhurst, a pioneering figure in the women's suffrage movement. From her early exposure to social causes to founding the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), Emmeline's journey is a testament to resilience and change. I explore the bold and militant strategies that the suffragettes employed to demand women's voting rights, culminating in the passing of the Representation of the People Act in 1918. The episode highlights Emmeline's relentless advocacy, her experiences with imprisonment, and her ultimate impact on British politics and society.


Please note transcription accuracy may vary.

Music by:
(Neffex - A year ago)
(Neffex - dont want to let myself go)

sources:
https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/womenvote/
Emmeline Pankhurst Suffragette: My Own Story

Transcript

Adeola: 0:00

never underestimate the power we women have to define our own destinies. We are here, not because we are lawbreakers, we are here in our efforts to become lawmakers. Emmeline Pankhurst, 1908. These words capture the determination of women fighting, not only for the right to vote, but for equal recognition, hi, hi, hi, hi! Today I wanted to honour one of the pioneers of the women's movement, Emmeline Pankhurst. When thinking of Acts of Kindness, she comes to mind as a remarkable figure. Her activism and kindness were deeply interwoven, creating change that reshaped British politics and society for generations. Emmaline's courage to demand rights for women at a time when they couldn't vote was revolutionary. Reflecting on this still stuns me a little bit that there was a time when women weren't actually seen as equal enough to have a say in shaping society. And then I realised whilst I was being all stunned by that, There's places in the world where women still don't have the right to vote. Blows my mind, I'm going to just start the episode. Emmeline Emmeline Pankhurst was born on the 14th of July 1858 in Manchester, England. Growing up in a politically active middle class family, she was exposed to social causes at an early age. Her parents were strong supporters of the anti slavery movement and she found comfort and inspiration in books like The Odyssey. I'm saying it like that because I feel like I know who wrote it. Homer. Homer's The Odyssey. Being around her parents and her books taught her about courage and heroism. At 14, she attended her first suffrage meeting with her mother, which she describes as the moment she became a conscious and confirmed suffragist. In 1879, she would marry Dr. Richard Pankhurst, a barrister and strong advocate for women's rights. Their marriage was happy and together they pursued social reforms. She would go on to dispel the stereotype, not just her, but since it's about her, the stereotype that suffragettes were simply Unhappy single women showing that they could be dedicated wives and mothers, driven by a deep desire for change. In 1888, Dr. Pankhurst passed away. Leaving her a widow and a single mum. To support her family she became a registrar, of births and deaths in Chorlton in Manchester. This role exposed her to the social inequality that women were facing. High infant mortality rates, poverty, and the struggles of the unwed mothers. their experiences deepened her understanding of the need for women's voice in shaping policies and strengthening her resolve for suffrage and social reform. In 1903, emmeline founded the Women's Social and Political Union, WSPU, with the motto, Deeds, Not Words. Their mission was to push the suffrage bill. To the forefront of parliamentary debates Unlike previous suffrage movements the WSPU Employed direct militant tactics to demand attention, recognising that only bold actions would force progress. These actions led to risk. including arrests and prison sentences. In 1908, Emmeline and her daughter Christabel were arrested during a protest outside the House of Parliament. They demanded that the Prime Minister of the time and his government address women's suffrage. This marked the beginning of her frequent imprisonment, during which she and other suffrages, would employ hunger strikes and endured isolation to draw attention to their cause. She would later go on to describe how the harsh conditions, including isolation, took a severe toll on their mental health. Whilst all this was going on. the movement was getting attention from the media also, so it wasn't just parliament that were interested, mainly parliament were interested in actually just getting them to be quiet, but the media then also got involved. The media got involved and they coined the term suffragette, it wasn't in a positive way. It was supposed to be a negative Evelyn and the other suffragettes reclaimed the term rather than seeing it as a negative. It became a badge of honor. And it became synonymous with their determination and their direct action symbolizing their resolve to achieve equality despite social opposition. This continues for years. women being arrested, women being force fed, sometimes by forcing feeding tubes down their throats. She would later go on to say that they weren't trying to be martyrs, they just wanted women's rights to be recognised. During the years when suffragettes were out campaigning, going to have to say. With the suffragette movement, it was the only time, it was the first time that prisons were seeing a higher intake of women prisoners. I probably should have added the suffragettes were also sometimes maybe definitely causing damage to public property. However, she will say that wasn't new. Men had been doing that when they'd been protesting and They weren't imprisoned. That was never high on anyone's agenda to make them somewhat accountable. But the second women did it, they were made accountable. I'm not saying vandalism is okay. Just saying, Equality, equality, lack of equality. And the ridiculous thing is that This would have all been resolved if the government had just given the suffragettes what they were protesting about. Not just the right to vote, but also equality for all women in the form of better health care, better working conditions. Things began to change because of World War One. So whilst a lot of the men were being drafted to go and fight for their country. It was on the women to do the jobs that the men had been doing. And Emmeline was very, very clear when she said to the other women, We need to do the job better. Whatever they were doing, we need to do it better. Just to prove that actually, we're capable of what they're capable of. That was the plan. In 1918, the Representation of the People Act was passed. Just to give a really brief synopsis of the Representation of People Act 1918, this was a pivotal piece of legislation in the United Kingdom that signified reform. to the electoral system. And this is what the suffragettes had wanted. The Act granted the right to vote to women age 30 and over who met certain property Qualifications because obviously there has to be has to be a loophole wasn't going to be that easy However, It did mean for the first time that women could participate in parliamentary elections also,'cause you know all about equality. The act actually also changed. Things for men also because it meant that men aged 21 and over no longer had to have any property requirement to be able to vote. So, yay, women helping women and women also helping men. Why in the end was the act passed? Why did it take so long? Actually, because Emmeline was right, by, by contributing to society, which they'd already been doing, but no one was interested, but it was highlighted during World War I. that helped get the act passed. The act is so important because it would then lead to other acts which eventually would create the path for acts to be implemented to broaden the category of women voters. Ten years after the Act was passed, Emmeline passed away on the 14th of June 1928. Her life reminds us that kindness can be bold, it can be unapologetic, and at times it can be revolutionary. I don't know why I keep choosing people who seem to be all about revolts and revolutions, but it just is what it is. Through her work, she taught us that change does actually require sacrifice and resilience and an unshakable commitment to a cause greater than oneself. Today, I personally would say we owe much of our progress to the foundation she laid, providing that one person's passion can indeed reshape the world. It did enter my head that if she was alive today, what would she think? Would she think that we had done so well? Something that she said, I know the woman of the future will be grateful to the woman of this generation, and I can only speak for myself, but I am grateful. I'm grateful for everything that she did, she's achieved something amazing in this country, which was her country. And I know there's people in other countries who also have achieved that. And I don't want to end it on a bad note, but there's just a part of me that thinks she wanted it to be far reaching and I'm not sure that we're actually, I'm not sure we're there yet. Thank you so much for listening to another episode. Be kind to others, but most importantly, be kind to yourself. And to the Americans who are at the polls or going to the polls, thinking of you.