International
The origin of the women’s movement goes back to the thinking inspired by the
18th-century Enlightenment. In 1791, the French author and revolutionary
feminist Olympe de Gouges wrote a declaration of rights that was exclusive to
women, “Déclaration des droits de la femme et de la citoyenne” – in English,
The Rights of Women.
Olympe de Gouges, whose proper name was Marie Gouze, was executed in 1793 for
the crime of having criticized Robespierre. French women did not get suffrage
until 1944.
Great Britain
“Déclaration des droits…” was a source of inspiration to Mary Wollstonecraft in
her writing of A Vindication for the Rights of Women,
in 1792. Though the start was quiet, the British suffragettes are noted for
their startling methods. The meeting held in 1869 was the first known occasion
of the suffragettes’ agitation for women’s franchise. Two years later, in 1871,
The National Society for Women’s Suffrage was founded.
Emily Wilding Davison (Daily Herald, 1914)
There were certain achievements, such as the female franchise obtained at the
colonies New Zeeland (1893) and Australia (1902), but in Great Britain these
were long in coming. Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and
Sylvia grew tired of waiting and in 1903 they created
Women's Social and Political Union, WSPU.
They used more militant methods like stone-throwing
and window-shattering. In prison, they went on hunger strike. In 1913, Emily
Wilding Davison threw herself before the King’s horse at a horse race. She was
wounded so severely that she later died from her injuries. The funeral turned
into a great manifestation of the struggle for women’s suffrage. The struggle
was interrupted when the First World War broke out. Women in Great Britain
obtained franchise as late as 1928.
The United States of America
Susan B. Anthony:"Failure is impossible!"
In the United States, a women’s meeting was held at Seneca Falls in 1848.
The women present at this meeting made a declaration, the Declaration of Sentiments.
This was based on the American Declaration of Independence, with the addition
of the word “women”, as in the following statement: “We hold these truths to be
self-evident: that all men and women are created equal”. Slightly more
than twenty years later, in 1869, American women established the first
association for women’s rights,
National Woman Suffrage Association, NWSA.
Among the promoters were Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Further reading:
National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection 1848-1921.
Denmark
In Denmark, women began their struggle for suffrage in the 1880s, and in 1889
the first “kvindevalgretsforening” (‘women’s association for franchise’) was
founded. Line Luplau, who was married to a priest, was one of the promoters.
The agitation was pursued through meetings and articles that contributed to
the debate. Several organisations for suffrage were established, of which
Danske Kvinders Valgretsforbund (‘Danish Women’s Association for Franchise’) and Landsforbundet
for Kvinders Valgret (‘The National Association for Women’s Franchise’)
were the biggest. These were not willing to cooperate and when
International Woman Suffrage Alliance decided that each country could
be represented by only one organisation, Denmark had to apply for exemption.
The application was granted and Denmark was represented by both organisations.
To begin with, the Social Democratics and Venstre (‘The Left Party’) supported
the women’s claim for suffrage, together with many individual male sympathizers.
One of these was Fredrik Bajer, who, together with his wife, founded
Dansk Kvindesamfund (Women’s Association in Denmark’) as early as 1871.
![“Procession of thanks”, Copenhagen, 1915.]](/kvinn/portaler/rostratt/foton/tack.jpg "“Procession of thanks”, Copenhagen, 1915.]")
“Procession of thanks”, Copenhagen, 1915.]
In 1915, Folketinget (the Danish parliament) adopted a new constitution, which
secured franchise for women. The women celebrated this achievement by
organising a “procession of thanks”. The procession ended up at Amalineborg,
where a letter of thanks was handed over to King Christian XII. 12-15,000
people participated in the procession.
Further readings:
Danske kvinders kamp for stemmeret.
Den danske kvindevalgretskamp.
Norway
Suffrage for Women
Sitting: Finland, Norway
Norwegian women obtained political franchise two years earlier than the Danish
women, in 1913, after a struggle which lasted comparatively as long as
Denmark’s. Norsk Kvindesagsforening was founded in 1884 but was later
split up because of the suffrage question. Gina Krog, who was considered to be
much too radical, established then Kvindestemmerettsforeningen
(‘The Association for Women’s Franchise’) together with some other women.
This was split up in its own turn when Landskvindestemmerettsforeningen (
The National Association for Women’s Franchise’) was established. The
reason for this divide was differing opinions about tactics, for instance the
question whether an acceptance of municipal franchise might be sufficient to
start with, or if an “all-at-once” claim should be made.
In 1901 women got municipal franchise, with eligibility to local communities. The Norwegian women’s and franchise movement was strongly engaged in the task of having the union with Sweden dissolved, e.g. by collecting names. Their action was then used as an argument for franchise, since it had proved that women were just as patriotic and good citizens as men.
Read more about Stemmeret (Franchise) in Norway.
Finland
Women's Political Club, Helsinki 1913
Finland was the first Nordic country to introduce franchise for women, in 1906.
Similar to the political context in Norway, the struggle for civic rights was
linked to a national issue – the struggle for liberation from Russia.
A central committee was appointed in 1905 for the purpose of uniting the two
movements. The new constitution, adopted in 1906, stated that the Parliament
should be founded on universal suffrage and equal eligibility for men and women.
This means that in 2006, hundred years have passed since the first Nordic
women obtained franchise – a historical fact that will be celebrated in many
ways.
Read more about
Finska kvinnors politiska rättigheter, (‘The Political Rights of Finnish Women’).
Further links:
The Danish Tidsskrifter 1885-1920.
Scanned women’s journals, e.g.
Kindestemmerets-bladet (1907-1913).The search engine enables concurrent
searches of all journals. The struggle in Sweden can be studied from a Danish
perspective and there are also articles written by Swedish franchise women.
Women's Suffrage : a World
Chronology of the Recognition of Women's Right to Vote and to Stand for Election
Votes for Women's Suffrage Pictures, 1850-1920.
