HISTORY THE SUFFRAGETTES WARM-UP WRITING PAIR WORK Scrivete in cinque minuti i nomi di donne famose nella storia e il motivo per cui sono ricordate. Vince la coppia che in cinque minuti scrive più nomi. The history of the movement At the beginning of the 20 century, in the UK, some women started to fight to obtain social reforms to allow women to vote: women were excluded from political life because it was believed that their place was at home as housewives and mothers. th In 1903 a women-only movement called Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) was founded and it was involved in civil disobedience. In 1906, to belittle the movement, a journalist from invented the term "suffragettes" to refer to it, from the word "suffragist" (any person who asks for the right of vote). Its members adopted the name to show they were stronger than any provocation. The Daily Mail The movement was not peaceful : its members often used violence to protest, for example they chained themselves to gates , broke windows or set things on fire. When the First World War began, however, the suffragettes had the chance to show their strength and skills by working to support their families and country. Eventually, in 1918, the Government approved the Representation of the People Act, which gave women aged over 30 the right to vote. Famous suffragettes Suffragettes were political activists and some of them even died in the protests. These are some of the most famous. , a writer and one of the first feminists in history, founded the National Union of Women’s Suffrage in 1897. She organised peaceful protests to prove that women deserved to be part of the political life of the country and had the right to vote and access higher education. She was the first woman to have a statue in Parliament Square in London. Millicent Fawcett founded the WSPU and was the most important member of the suffragette movement. She was often criticised for her violent protests (she said that women had to “terrorise the British public” to obtain their rights) but her work was crucial. In 1999, named her as one of the 100 most important people of the 20 century. Emmeline Pankhurst Time th was a playwright and a journalist. She was also one of the first female martial arts instructors of the western world. In 1906 she joined The Women’s Freedom League to fight for women’s suffrage and sexual equality. There, she organised a self-defence club to teach women martial arts as a form of emancipation. Edith Garrud GLOSSARY : : : : : : : : : : : : to allow permettere to belittle sminuire to chain incatenarsi to deserve meritare gate cancello to grant garantire grave tomba to involve coinvolgere peaceful pacifico to prove dimostrare strength forza underpaid sottopagato
