In Memory

Today my little brother was able to participate in our democratic system for the first time. I won't say participate in our democracy because that is not something that happens on a single day but is a part of our lives living in an organised society. But for the first time in his life, having turned 18 earlier this year (OK, he's not-so-little), he was able to give direct input into the workings of our government by voting for his local MP and the national party they represent.

Less than 50 years ago he would not have been able to do this - it is easy to forget that it is within living memory that the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 in the UK (1969 taking effect 1970). It is also often neglected that it took a very long time, for everyone to be able to vote without their income or property being assessed and, of course, irrespective of gender.

It is therefore easy to take such a basic human right, such a fundamental part of living in a democratic community for granted - and to become blind to the struggles that so many still face to keep a hold of it.

'A group of women in their 20s left the polling station with smiles on their faces in 1929, having just voted in their first general election.' (Huffington Post)

For one particular woman - who had not only rocked society by going to university but was one of very few who were permitted to graduate - the constant struggle to simply be accepted as a human being had galvanised in her a courage and fire to do whatever it takes to change the situation. For decades the ruling officials had been presented with paper after paper, women and men had argued and discussed and persuaded and called for change via policy and debate. The privilege of the privileged few was strong enough that it not only encouraged them to resist sharing it but also gave them the power to do so. Unlike every other previous movement for mass culture change - and, in fact, every other advance in granting suffrage to a wider and wider group of people - for women, use of violence was resisted. Is this why change was slowest on this front? The privileged few could retain one demographic with which they didn't need to share their power because their lives weren't directly threatened by them?

Something had to change. This quiet revolution needed to raise it's voice in order to be noticed and taken seriously. Read 'My Own Story' by Emmeline Pankhurst - probably the most important book a UK citizen can read.

Many women and men put their lives at risk because they knew that life as it was couldn't go on. The situation was worth dying for. 104 years ago today, Emily Wilding Davison, London and Oxford University 1st Class graduate, who had been working full time for the Suffragette movement and the WSPU after leaving a career as a teacher (after many others had been denied to her simply because of her gender), died in a hospital in Epsom. Four days previously, she had taken part in one of the many protest acts she and countless others carried out over years, demanding suffrage for women, which were known to be highly dangerous to the protesters themselves (though very rarely were they in any way dangerous to anyone else). She brought WSPU flags in front of three newsreel cameras to excite the mass-scale public response needed to instigate genuine, lasting change and, as a result of her injuries received, lost her life.

So, on this day, 104 years later, I would like to take a moment to reflect - and ask anyone out there reading this to do the same - about the difficult paths that have been taken to lead us to where we are today - and those that remain ahead. To all 974 female candidates standing in today's parliamentary general election, no matter what party or policies you represent, I send thanks and courage. It is so easy to forget or sweep under the carpet the battles you have had to over come to get even as far as standing to represent your constituency. Yes, simply by way of identifying as a woman, they will have had to fight longer and harder than their male counterparts (a look at the number of sexism-driven death-threats MPs standing today have received confirms this) - a hateful fact that will one day change, thanks to their having taken on the fight. You are all my heroes. Thank you.

Useful links/references...

1. 2017 UK General Election stats (BBC)

2. 'Women's Equality party candidate receives death threat signed 'Jo Cox'' (Guardian, Telegraph)

3. 'Threats of death and violence common for women in politics' (Guardian)

4. 'Truth behind the death of suffragette Emily Davison is finally revealed' (Guardian)

5. 'The real suffragettes: Emmeline Pankhurst, Emily Davison and Edith New' (The Week)

6. Suffragettes - Timeline (UK Parliamentary Education Service)

7. A brief history of representation (An Introduction to UK Parliament, FutureLearn)

8. 'The Story of Parliament' (Houses of Parliament)
9. The WSPU (Wikipedia)
10. The Pankhurst Centre, Manchester