Latest news with #suffragette
BBC News
02-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Welsh group make 264 sashes for female MPs to mark women's vote
A team of Welsh seamstresses have made 264 sashes for every woman MP to mark 97 years since women were given the right to group, based in Newport, call themselves Lucy and the Sashmeisters, and the handcrafted white sashes were given to the current women MPs at Westminster Hall on sashes hope to both commemorate the difficulties faced during the suffragette movement, and the significance of the Equal Franchise Act of 1928, which gave women over the age of 21 the right to vote. Organised by Centenary Action, the project is part of the campaign for the equal number of men and women MPs, as currently there are only 40 percent of women MPs in government. Centenary action was established by Dr Helen Pankhurst, the granddaughter of Sylvia Pankhurst and great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst - two trailblazing women who founded the suffragettes and campaigned for women's right to to the act being passed, only women over the age of 30 who occupied a house, or were married to someone who did, could vote. The group have been crafting the sashes since March, and women of all age ranges and backgrounds helped out, with the youngest aged 15, and then the oldest aged 87. They are white twill sashes, with one purple ribbon down one side and green on the other side, the iconic colours of the British suffragette movement. Each sash is numbered, depending on where each MP comes in the all time list of women MPs. "There have only ever been 694 women MPs, so for all the women it connects them to the past, to the history of suffrage, it connects them to each other," said Dr Pankhurst. "It's a baton that's also being handed over to the next generation of women MPs, to know their number and find ways to support each other and transform Parliament."There are the most women MPs ever at present, which is a milestone worth recognising, said Dr Pankhurst, but she added "celebration alone isn't enough"."We need real, sustained action to ensure we reach a truly gender-equal Parliament by 2028, when we mark the centenary of equal franchise." Spearhead of the project, seamstress Lucy Harris, said: "I'm really proud to be able to do this for them, they work for us and particularly for women, we have a voice now.""Our earliest sash is for Diane Abbott," Ms Harris told BBC Radio Wales said while there aren't 50 percent women MPs yet, the process of making the sashes highlighted the increase of women going up per decade, which she described as "amazing". Nancy Astor was the first woman to sit as an MP in the House of Commons in 1919 and she sat alongside 706 men. Today, there are 386 men. Ms Harris said she was first put in touch with Dr Pankhurst in 2018, when she made 100 suffragette sashes for the march for women in London on International Women's Day. Just before Christmas last year, she said she got an email from Dr Pankhurst asking if she and those at Re:Make, a community repair and reuse space in Newport, would want to do it again. Labour MP Jessica Morden was heavily involved in the project, and helped deliver the sashes to Westminster. Ms Morden said she was "so proud" to see the sashes, and it was "quite the moment" to witness so many women MPs wearing their sashes together. "It is a testament to how far we've come since the Equal Franchise Act of 1928," she added. She described the event as a "fitting tribute" to all the suffragettes who fought and suffered to ensure that all women could have their say in how the country is run."The number 264 represents around 40 percent of the total Members of Parliament," she added. "This shows there is still much work to do to achieve a truly representative Parliament in which 50 percent of MPs are women."She thanked Centenary Action for bringing the project together and the "utterly brilliant" seamstresses at Re:Make for "working so hard to make all of the sashes from scratch".
The Guardian
20-06-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Campaign for statue of British suffragette hero is hit by funding crisis
The campaign to commemorate the first suffragette to die for women's rights is facing a funding crisis. Mary Clarke, who was the sister of Emmeline Pankhurst, helped found the Women's Social and Political Union and suffered imprisonment three times. But she has been all but forgotten: there is no public memorial to her and she is not even among the 59 suffragettes named on the Millicent Fawcett plinth in Parliament Square. 'Mary was extraordinarily brave,' said Jean Calder, who is leading the campaign for a statue of Clarke in Brighton that will also be a memorial to women and girls who have died from domestic, sexual or state violence. 'At a time when domestic violence was condoned and divorce a matter of shame, Mary escaped an abusive marriage, during which she experienced destitution and homelessness,' said Calder. The Mary Clarke Statue Appeal has raised £20,000 for a work by Denise Dutton, the sculptor who created the Mary Anning statue in Lyme Regis. Organisers say a lack of name recognition for Clarke – the reason they want the statue in the first place – is preventing them reaching their £60,000 target. 'Mary was injured in the notorious violence of 'Black Friday' on 18 November 1910, later imprisoned for one month, enduring a hunger strike and, reportedly, forcible feeding,' said Calder. 'She died of a brain haemorrhage on Christmas Day 1910, two days after her release from prison.' Birgit Miller, cabinet member for culture, heritage and tourism at Brighton and Hove council, said that although the campaign had all-party support, cuts meant the council could not fund it. 'Remembering Mary is important because she dedicated her life – and ultimately sacrificed it – so women like me could have a vote,' said Miller. She believes Clarke has been forgotten because she died so early in the suffrage campaign. 'It was only those who had been following the fight since its beginning who would have remembered who she was,' she said. Professor Julie Gottlieb, who was on the panel advising which names should appear on Fawcett's plinth, said Clarke's was never considered, even though her sister Emmeline is commemorated along with her three nieces. 'Our priority was to be as representative as possible across all kinds of lines: demographic, political, ethnic, gender, religious and class,' she said. 'I think the balance that was struck was fair and successful.' Clarke's story, however, still has the power to inspire younger generations. River Isaac was seven when she read about the statue appeal in a newspaper. 'I had been wanting to write to our headteacher to campaign for better football facilities for girls but had been too scared,' she said. 'But then I thought how Mary Clarke had done all these things, even though she must have been scared, and decided it was no reason for not doing something.' Not only was Isaac's appeal to the headteacher a success but she and some friends then set up the Mary's Lamp group, asking Brighton councillors questions about women's rights and highlighting discrimination against girls in Afghanistan. Women are hugely underrepresented in UK public art, statues and memorials: excluding royals, there are just over 100 statues honouring a specific woman for her achievements. 'Visibility of women like Mary Clarke is important and we agree there should be a statue to celebrate her sacrifice in the campaign for suffrage,' said Penny East, chief executive of the Fawcett Society. Brighton was the territory where Clarke campaigned before her death aged 47 or 48.
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Period Costumes Descend on Philadelphia
Philadelphia's "No Kings" protest was a mass expression of anti-Trump resistance. It was also a magnet for lovers of period costumes. The rally featured a professional James Madison impersonator, a suffragette and an array of folks in wigs and tricorn hats.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Helen Keller's Family, Companions, & the Life They Built Together
As a disabled social activist and suffragette, Helen Keller is a household name. But her life story doesn't begin and end with her work. Let's take a deeper look into her early life, her evolving relationships with family, mentors, and friends, as well as the ways in which her disability shaped her experiences and informed the legacy we still engage with today. Helen Keller was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama, in 1880. She developed a brain fever at just 19 months old — later speculated to be either meningitis or scarlet fever — which left her deaf and blind. Losing both her sight and hearing at such a young age proved challenging, as you'd expect. Without easy access to occupational therapy or specialized schools, as many disabled children have today, Helen had to adapt to her environment on her own. She worked to feel and smell her world through her remaining senses. Many families with nonverbal or disabled children know how that lack of communication can be extremely frustrating for them and often lead to tantrums. Helen Keller was no different, throwing things and eating from others' plates to get her way. It's a common misconception that her famed tutor, Anne Sullivan, swooped in to save the day. Yet, Helen did use a primitive communication technique before ever coming into contact with Anne. She used a simple sign language that consisted of 60 signs with her family members and her companion, Martha Washington, who was the child of her family's cook. In addition to her friend Martha, Helen's dog Belle, an old setter, was also a constant companion to her. She enjoyed Belle's presence, excitement, and overall calm manner. Given her disabilities, Helen didn't lead a stereotypical adulthood. She and Anne Sullivan bought a home together in Wrentham, Massachusetts. Though Anne later married John A. Macy in 1905, Helen continued to live with the couple even into her 30s. Macy, an editor of Keller's autobiography, was also a great friend of Helen's. Both joined the Socialist Party (Helen in 1909), with Helen later becoming a suffragist. Helen seemed happy in the Macy's home, and John devised a system for her to be able to take regular walks. However, the marriage didn't last. While the two never formally divorced, John and Anne parted ways in 1914 and became estranged. Meanwhile, Helen continued staying with Anne. Incredibly, Helen's fight for social rights didn't end with the Suffragist Movement. She was a devout humanitarian and even co-founded the American Civil Liberties Union. She was also active in raising awareness and encouraging support for the blind. Additionally, Helen published four books about her life, one on religion, one on social problems, and a biography of Anne Sullivan. Probably one of the most notable of her accomplishments is that at the age of 75, she did a five-month, 40,000-mile trek across Asia. Helen Keller gradauted cum laude from Radcliffe College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1904. Related: Despite her achievements and triumphs, Helen Keller wasn't a monolith. She had people who loved and supported her, just as you do! We all have people who touch us along the way, and these are some of the important people to pop up in Helen's life. Helen was Arthur and Kate Keller's first child. After serving in the Confederate Army, her father became an editor for the North Alabamian. His first marriage to Sarah E. Rosser left him a widower, though he later married Kate Adams in 1877. Helen had a loving relationship with her parents, who sought to find the best care they could for her. Helen Keller was a distant cousin of Confederate General, Robert E. Lee, through her father's line. Helen was far from an only child, having a younger sister named Mildred and two stepbrothers, Simpson and James. While Helen struggled to adapt in an environment not well-suited for her needs with family who didn't know how to help, James is believed to have had a firmer hand with Helen than most. Helen also had a younger brother, Phillips, whom she helped name. While Helen didn't mention her brothers much in her writings, she did discuss walking hand-in-hand with her sister and attempting to talk to her with her primitive language. Once Helen learned to speak, Mildred became a close confidant. In 1886, Helen's mother contacted Alexander Graham Bell, who was working on a hearing device for the deaf. He led them to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, where Anne Sullivan was studying. With a visual impairment herself, Anne was a star student at Perkins Institute and traveled to Alabama to work with Helen. Through their hard work, Helen learned to use sign language and read braille by the time she was 10 years old! Helen also wanted to learn how to speak, so Anne took her to the Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Boston. After having eleven lessons there, Anne took over her instruction, and Helen eventually learned to speak. Unsurprisingly, the two remained close until Anne's death in 1936. Helen Keller never married or had children, not that she didn't try. At 36, she and Peter Fagan applied for a marriage license that was never fulfilled. When Anne became ill, Peter, a 29-year-old reporter, became Helen's temporary secretary. During this time, the two grew close and made plans to marry. However, Helen's family was against the match, believing in the unfortunately common idea at the time that marriage and motherhood were not options for a disabled woman like her. The two planned to elope nonetheless, but Peter never came. Helen later said of the relationship, "His love was a bright sun that shone upon my helplessness and isolation." After the failed elopement, Helen never saw Peter again. Polly Thomson was another companion in Helen's adult life. A housekeeper from Scotland who eventually became Keller's secretary, she worked with both Anne and Helen. After Anne was no longer able to travel with Helen due to her declining health, Polly became Helen's best-known companion. Polly took Anne's place after her death and remained by Helen's side until her own death in 1960. Helen Keller was dealt a difficult hand as a young child, but she took advantage of every opportunity that came her way. Leaning on the friends and family around her, she fought for social and human rights, sought to increase her education at every turn, and lived a rich life right up to the end. And it's this triumphant story that's led to the even richer legacy we revere today.
BBC News
25-05-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Shipley's role in votes for women fight highlighted in new tour
The story of one of the biggest rallies outside of London in the early 20th Century calling for women's right to vote is to be retold at a series of events in the town where it took estimated 100,000 people took part in a mass rally in support of the suffragette movement at Shipley Glen in West Yorkshire in 1908, with local campaigner Nell Kenney one of the key speakers.A new heritage tour being launched this weekend in Shipley, and running for much of the year, aims to highlight the town's role in the suffragette movement, with actress and singer Joanne Crowther playing the part of Ms Crowther said the aim was to reclaim a story of "women who stood up and demanded change". Ms Crowther said it must have been a huge moment when "up to 100,000 people surged from Bradford city, and across the region, up to the Glen to take part in this amazing rally".In fact, the event at Shipley Glen is considered to be a direct precursor to the famed Hyde Park rally held later that year in support of women's right to the Shipley rally, Ms Kenney, who worked for a stationers in Bingley and was a leading member of the Women's Social and Political Union, spoke alongside famous suffragette Emmeline Crowther explained that Ms Kenney and her sisters not only campaigned across West Yorkshire, but also travelled widely - from the North East to the Midlands - on bicycles and trains to spread the word about votes for Kenney also famously led demonstrations at the Houses of Parliament and at one point was jailed for 14 days as a Crowther said: "She had a very significant impact in the provinces in the votes for women movement. She was fearless."These women risked everything - reputation, freedom, safety - so we could have the right to vote today." Ms Crowther said the aim of the new tour, the first of which is due to take place at 13:00 BST on Sunday 25 May and which will be run regularly until the autumn, was to bring the story of Ms Kenney and other "forgotten" suffragettes back to would "really celebrate and appreciate all that dedication, hard work and sacrifice that enabled women now to be able to vote", she Crowther explained that the inaugural performance would begin in Saltaire with her first playing another character, Pollie Toothill, a Victorian woman re-created from historical research and census Toothill would recount her life as the wife of a scandalous Victorian character in the 1870s - and would also give the audience a window onto the world of famed local personalities including Sir Titus Salt, the founder of Crowther said that as the audience boarded the famous Shipley Glen Tramway - dubbed the "time machine" - she would switch hats and costumes and grab her sash and umbrella, which was known as the suffragettes' "weapon of choice", to morph into Nell Kenney."Bringing this to life isn't just about history," she said."It's about reclaiming a story of women who stood up and demanded change - and showing that this corner of Yorkshire was right at the heart of it." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
