"DEEDS, NOT WORDS":
THE EMMELINE PANKHURST AND WOMEN’S SUFFRAGE
Introduction
The English political activist Emmeline Pankhurst (1858-1928) is considered by many to be the leading figure of the women’s suffrage movement waged in Edwardian England. Pankhurst’s 40-year fight gained victory in the year of her death, turning the government to grant the British women the same parliamentary voting rights as to man. This significant contribution to women’s political emancipation which ultimately led her being recognized by Time Magazine (1999) as one of the Heroes and Icons of the 20th Century. However, Pankhurst had been the subject of controversy since her introduction of militant actions into the campaign for women’s suffrage. While some praised
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Civil or political rights for the female was strictly limited, as they were considered susceptible and fragile which were not capable of making their own decisions. The conduct book Woman in her Social and Domestic Character (1831) representing the traditional ideas about Victorian women, the author believes the domestic home life is the primary sources of a woman’s influence, while they should take the subordinate position to men . Therefore, we can see women at that time were expected to marry and live up to an image of “ideal wife”– submissive, demure and perform domestic duties–rather than receive the formal …show more content…
The WSPU was initially formed in response to the exclusion of women issues from the Independent Labor Party, which refused to support the call for women enfranchisement . Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Sylvia and Christabel hence decided to establish a women-only organization focused solely on voting right, which later gained much notoriety for its actions. Since the peaceful tactics adopt by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) fail to receive attention from the government, the WSPU adopt the motto “Deeds, not words” to demonstrate their more militant