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SuFFrAgE
The Women's Social and Political Union
The members of the Women’s Social and Political Union were called
suffragettes. This party was founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and her
family, with a motto “deeds not words”. This group of independent women
decided on civil disobedience tactics, as the peaceful measures of the
NUWSS did not appear to have an impact on the lawmakers.
The suffragettes were very instrumental,
disrupting the House of Commons and Liberal Party meetings, smashing
windows and vandalising golf courses.
These suffragettes were consequently
arrested, and placed in prison, as they chose not to pay the fine. In
prison, the demonstrations continued, with women refusing to eat, going on
hunger strikes. The authorities did not want any martyrs to the cause, and
at first released those women who used this tactic. Later, force feeding
was introduced, where a doctor forced a tube down the woman’s throat and
poured in food quickly. These demonstrations continued, with riots, and the refusal to complete censuses, for many years until the beginning of the First World War.
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