Ever heard of the suffragettes? They were a pretty awesome bunch of women who campaigned for women’s rights to vote in elections around the world between the 1880s and 1920s. They were successful in advancing women’s rights to participate in democracy. Basically, these women are the reason you can vote in state and federal elections when you’re 18. That’s kind of a big deal!
Throughout the history of the world, women have been denied the right to vote and to participate in politics. It was only a little more than a century ago that New Zealand became the very first nation to grant women the right to vote in 1893. Back then the idea of women having a say in political affairs was laughable to many. Now, with female leaders and parliamentarians playing a key role in democratic life, the joke’s on them. But these changes would never have happened without women’s activism for political and civil rights.
The suffragette movement developed out of the first wave of feminism in the 19th century when women began to fight for women’s rights and equality in public life. They argued for political and civil rights equal to those of men and for the emancipation of women from traditional roles that placed restrictions on their lives. Women began movements throughout the world promoting the advancement of women’s rights and began lobbying for the right to vote, becoming known as the ‘Suffragettes’.
While the suffragette movement is a foundational and inspiring chapter of feminist history, it’s also important to recognise its faults. It was very much focused on the rights of white women. In Australia, First Nations women were excluded from the movement and only gained the right to vote in federal elections in 1962. Sadly, while first-wave feminists made big gains for white women, it was also rife with racist discrimination.
Watch this video to understand the racism within the US Suffrage movement and how racism played a role in disenfranchising Black women after the movement.
Gaining suffrage in Australia – a brief history
It’s hard to imagine now, but it was only a bit over a century ago that the idea of women being able to vote in Australia was considered ridiculous. Women’s role in society was confined to domestic and family duties. Poor women and women of colour did work but they were discriminated against and undervalued. Sexist notions that saw women as weak, emotional and incapable of much more than catering to the needs of their children or husbands were widely held in society.
The space of politics was a men’s only club, and many feared that allowing women to enter political debate could result in the introduction of ‘feminine’ attitudes and ‘weakness’ to public life. Yep, it was a pretty tough world for women, and those fighting for change faced many battles.
So how on earth did we get to where we are now, to a place where the right of women to vote is fundamental to our democracy and political discussion?
In Australia, the Suffragette movement began with the determination of women’s groups and organisations who advocated for women’s right to vote. The Victorian Women’s Suffrage Society was the first women’s suffrage society. It was formed in 1884 largely due to the efforts of Henrietta Dugdale, a key activist in the suffrage movement. The suffragettes began to organise across different states, publishing leaflets, running debates and public meetings and engaging with members of parliament to push for women’s suffrage.
These women didn’t have the advantages of social media to promote their message. Nope, they literally travelled from place to place and knocked on every door to spread the word and gain support for women’s right to vote.
Women suffrage campaigners gathered signatures in support of women’s suffrage on two important petitions. Amassing over 40,000 signatures, these women’s efforts resulted in around 1% of the entire population of Australia signing. This was a huge achievement at a time when the idea of women being involved in politics was widely ridiculed.
The Monster Petition
The first petition was gathered in 1891 and sought to gain support for the claim that Victorian women should be able to vote on equal terms with men. It is known as the ‘Monster Petition’ because of its enormous size. At 260 metres long, it takes three people three hours to unroll it from end to end!
Key figures in the suffragette movement including Vida Goldstein, Marie Kirk and Annette Bear-Crawford, played a hugely influential role in distributing the petition, which gained over 30,000 signatures in less than six months!
With the support of tens of thousands of Victorians, the petition was presented to Parliament in September 1981. But still, the Victorian Upper House refused to give women equal voting rights. Despite the disappointment faced by the women who had fought tirelessly to petition the Victorian Government, the Monster Petition was a momentous achievement for the suffragette movement and another step closer to gaining voting rights.
This is the petition now, stored in the Victorian Parliament’s public record office. Image from Parliament of Victoria website.
Success for suffragettes in South Australia
The second iconic petition was gathered in South Australia in 1894. Women’s rights groups and key suffragette figures such as Mary Lee reignited their efforts after three failed attempts to grant women’s suffrage. In 1893 the first country to grant women enfranchisement (the right to vote) was New Zealand. This encouraged the suffragette movement in Australia and the determination of women in SA to travel across the state to collect as many signatures as possible in support of granting women the right to vote.
The petition was presented to the South Australian Parliament on August 23, 1984, with 11,600 signatures and a whopping 120 metres in length! Finally, the efforts of the suffragette women were a success, and on 18 December 1984 South Australian women were granted the right to vote AND to stand for Parliament.
This included First Nations women, who could vote in state elections. At the Ngarrindjeri mission at Point McLeay, First Nations women insisted on enrolling on the electoral roll and voting in the 1896 election, despite being firmly discouraged by the white manager of the mission.
The South Australian legislation was a momentous achievement on both the national and international levels as the legislation was the first in the world to grant women’s suffrage as well as the right to stand for Parliament.
Image from Parliament of Australia website.
Suffrage Australia-wide
The success of suffrage in different state elections was the result of the determination of suffrage and women’s rights groups and a long, difficult fight to challenge resistance from governments and those in society who opposed women’s enfranchisement. After the success of South Australia’s suffrage movement, Western Australia granted women’s suffrage in 1899, followed by NSW in 1902. Tasmania and Queensland followed, and then in 1908, Victoria finally granted women the right to vote.
In 1902, as an outcome of the relentless lobbying of Australian suffragettes and women’s groups, Australia granted women – except for First Nations women – the right to vote in federal elections by passing the Commonwealth Franchise Act. Along with suffrage, the Australian Government also gave white women the right to be elected to federal parliament.
While this was a landmark achievement for the suffragette movement and for white women, all First Nations people were specifically excluded from the Act which included a clause banning all “non-whites” from voting. It was not until 1962 following increasing pressure to end racial discrimination against First Nations people that they were given the right to vote in federal elections.
What this means for us today
Wild as it seems, women weren’t always guaranteed the right to vote. It took a lot of hard work and determination for all women to gain this fundamental right and be allowed a democratic voice. The suffragettes are great examples for us feminists today as they, as their relentless perseverance can inspire us to stand up for the many injustices that still exist in our society!
