by Francesca Dent

Created on: May 08, 2009

Being from Great Britain and being nearly 18, I have the right to vote in the upcoming European parliamentary elections. Having received my poll card, I am spending time carefully deciding which party I will vote for. But why is it so important that we all make use of our polling cards and place a vote?

The most famous and well documented fight for the vote in Britain was carried out by a bunch of women, many of whom risked their lives so that women like me could vote. The move for women to vote began in 1897 when Millicent Fawcett formed the National Union of Women's Suffrage. Fawcett believed in peaceful protest, and argued that if women could hold positions such as sitting on school boards they should be considered responsible enough to vote. At the time however, men saw women as emotional people who wouldn't understand the importance of their vote, throwing it away. One of Fawcett's main arguments was that men and women paid the same taxes but didn't have the same rights when it came to casting their votes. The peaceful, non violent fight for the vote was a slow process and some women got sick of the waiting around for action. Thus the Women's Social and Political Union (better known as the Suffragettes) was set up by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia.

The Suffragettes wanted action and weren't afraid to use force and violence to get themselves noticed and get the vote for women. It was acts such as chaining themselves to the gates of Buckingham Palace, refusing to pay taxes, attacking politicians and firebombing their homes which got the women arrested. This however failed to stop them in their fight. Once in prison, the women would refuse food. The government however were concerned that these hunger strikes would one day end up with one of the campaigners dying in prison, thus prison officers were told to force feed the prisoners. This however caused public outrage and the government were forced to come up with the Cat and Mouse Act, where once arrested a suffragette would go on a hunger strike and once they were weak due to lack of food, they would be released, only to be arrested again at a later date.

In reply to this, the militant group became more extreme. At the Epsom Derby in June of 1913, perhaps the most legendary act committed by a suffragette took place. Emily Wilding Davison threw herself under the King's horse, killing her. While Davison's actions were considered to be heroic among fellow Suffragettes, her death failed to help the fight for the vote as it made many men wonder why such a well educated woman would do such a thing, leading to the question of why women should be given the vote.

It is highly likely that, if it had not been for the First World War in 1914, the suffragettes would have become more violent. But due to the conflict, Emmeline Pankhurst instructed all campaigning to stop and aid the country in its war effort. Women were heavily depended on during the war and soon after, women were given the right to vote.

So why should we vote today? Simple, because without our votes, the efforts of both the National Union of Women's Suffrage and the Women's Social and Political Union were all in vain. These are not the only people to fight for the right to vote, but for me, as a British female, their actions have had a great impact on my right to vote.

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