Volume 15 , Issue 15

Suffragist Emmeline Goulden Pankhurst (1858-1928)

Emmeline Goulden Pankhurst (British political activist, leader of the British suffragette movement) was born 1858. Emmeline started the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903. The WSPU fought for women's suffrage in England for the next 25 years, sometimes using militant tactics like arson. Pankhurst herself was jailed several times and participated in hunger strikes while in prison.

She died a few weeks after British women were granted equal voting rights in 1928. She was educated at Ecole Normale Superierure, and married to Richard Pankhurst, 1879-1898.

The Day Book (Chicago, Illinois, dated 17 October 1913, image 25, mentioned that Mrs. Pankhurst was coming to the Untied States to inveigh against social secrets now hidden. The following was mentioned by Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst, which she and instituted in England, was, "Stop burning houses and attack that which is contained within houses, the home circle, the lop-sided home circle, in which the man is supreme."

It was 17 October 1912, Emmeline Pankhurst stood alone on the platform at the Albert Hall. There was a tense feeling amongst her audience since the statement about the split had appeared that morning in both "Votes for Women" and "The Suffragette," circulated one day earlier than their scheduled publication date.

The rank and file membership had no say in the expulsion of the Pethick Lawrences and now Emmeline had to draw on all her powers of persuasion to present the "fait accompli" as a favorable move, that was only a small part of a much broader and more important initiative. Emmeline emphasized the need for unity of purpose and of policy, and made a brief reference to the statement and began to outline the new militant policy which would include relentless opposition not only to the party in power, the Liberals, but also the Irish and Labour Parties which supported the anti-suffrage government. In the following speech, Emmeline used great mastery and emotion as she carried her audience with her as she explained how militant women were the victims rather than perpetrators of violence, including sexual violence, and how they were a fighting force for the progress of all women in a society which upheld a double moral standard:

"Now, why are we militant? I tell you, women, in this hall that you who allow yourselves to be tricked by the excuses of politicians, have not yet awakened to a realization of the situation. The day after the outrages in Wales, I met some of the women who had exposed themselves tot he indecent assaults of that mob. One woman said she did not feel she could even tell her husband or her son the nature of the assault, and then I said to her, 'How could you bear it?' And she said, 'All the time I thought of the women who day by day, and year by year, are suffering through the White Salve Traffic.' In our speeches on Woman Suffrage, we have not dwelt very much on that horrible aspect of women's lives, because some of us felt that to think of those things, to speak very much about them, was apt to cause a state of reeling which would make it impossible for us to carry on our work with cheerful hearts . . . until women have the Vote, the White Salve traffic will continue all over the world, Until by law we can establish an equal moral code for men and women, women will be fair game for the vicious section of the population inside Parliament as well as outside it."

With pathos in her voice, Emmeline went on to talk about other matters with which voteless women, who had no power, had to contend, namely the sexual exploitation of little girls who could be made pregnant, infected with VD, and used as child prostitutes.

Emmeline argued that the only way to put an end to such horrible evil was to join the women suffragists in their great moral mission of freeing half of the human race by empowering women with the parliamentary vote. Thus Emmeline led to the main point of her talk, encouraging women to engage in a range of militant acts and, in particular, her official endorsement of secret attacks on public and private property.   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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