Emmeline Pankhurst

Emmeline Pankhurst is known for her work with the suffragettes. They were a group of women who fought for the right to vote.
She was one of the founding members in 1903 of The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). It would become known as the suffragettes.
Emmeline Pankhurst was born in Manchester on the 14th July 1858. Her father Robert Goulden was a businessman and her mother Sophia had an interest in politics. This is probably where she got her fighting spirit for campaigning for women's rights from.
Her husband Richard Pankhurst who she married in 1879 supported her cause. Her daughters Christabel and Sylvia also supported her.
Publicity and sympathy towards their campaign began to wane though by 1905. Marches demonstrating their right to vote were no longer getting attention. Even protests were suddenly no longer peaceful.
Many women including Pankhurst were sent to prison. After one suffragette Marion Dunlop began not to eat they released her. They were concerned she could die. But when others began to follow her lead and go on hunger strike. They began to force feed them. It wasn’t considered acceptable to release them on the grounds that they would not eat. When the suffragettes became ill and to weak in prison they were released once they recovered they were arrested again. This act was called cat and mouse.
The suffragettes had started targeting people who were against their cause. Houses of members of Parliament and public buildings were damaged in protests. Due to the outbreak of the First World War, the campaign was stopped for a while.
Women finally got the right to vote in 1928. Emmeline Pankhurst died not long afterwards on the 14th June 1928. She fought for the right to vote equally with men. Nowadays we don't all use democratic right to vote. Yet Emmeline Pankhurst had to fight for her democratic right to vote.
© Children's Web Magazine 2008