The Beginning of a Movement

http://thehpalliance.org/2012/08/

What can Women of today do? Well, what can't they do? They can drive, have an education, marry and divorce, control their number of offspring and they can VOTE. However this has not always been the case, as we reflect back through history this restriction on Women's rights was a platform for major historical events and movements.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century women were caught in a control system that limited their position within society. Women were governed by male figures, firstly their fathers and secondly their husbands 'men held all the resources and women had no independent means of subsistence' (Wojtczak, 2009). To not be married would be seen as distasteful and render women as undesirable as 'a woman who remained single would attract social disapproval and pity' (Wojtczak, 2009). Once married women forfeited all assets and control over their daily lives. Married women were entered into a never ending cycle of motherhood and nursing due to the lack of contraception 'every man had the right to force his wife into sex and childbirth' (Wojtczak, 2009). Prior to the Married Womens Property Act 1884 'a woman's personal property was transferred automatically to her husband on marriage' (Woodley, 2012).

Official education was not readily available with universities only occupied by men 'Girls received less education than boys, were barred from universities' (Wojtczak, 2009) the only work available to women were low skilled positions which meant that was no requirement for university attendance anyway.

In 1890, Florence Fenwick Miller (1854-1935), a midwife turned journalist, described woman's position during a speech to the National Liberal Club:

"Under exclusively man-made laws women have been reduced to the most abject condition of legal slavery in which it is possible for human beings to be held...under the arbitrary domination of another's will, and dependent for decent treatment exclusively on the goodness of heart of the individual master" (http://homepages.ihug.co.nz/~awoodley/regency/legalwomen.html)

The middle class women in society were not required to hold down jobs due to their husband's wealth and position within society. Their motherhood and nursing duties were often taken over by a wet nurse leaving them redundant in this area also (Woodley, 2012).

These middle class women spent their days meeting other middle class women and one can only imagine the overriding sense of boredom that must have been present. Their frustration can be easily understood when you consider the lack of self- worth they must have felt. The working class women at least contributed to their households, the middle class women contributed nothing. The intellectual middle class women began to realise that upon marriage they were forfeiting their own assets and eventually the beginning of the movement began to stir....

Early Petitions.


http://herstoria.com/?p=535

1850's - the Ladies of Langham Place initiated a series of campaigns covering a variety of women's issues such as education, employment, marriage rights and suffrage. The ladies pictured opposite, Barbara Bodichon, Emily Davis and Bessie Rayner Parkes were three like minded friends who expressed their views in their periodical English Women's Journal 'the office of which was at 19 Langham Place, London W1 and is where the group found their name' (Herstoria,2012,p.535)

1856 - Barbara Bodichon formed the Women's Suffrage Committee with the aim of petitioning Parliament to establish a Married Women's Property Bill. Though her intention failed this gave birth to the Langham Place Movement.

1857 -  The Matrimonial Causes Act allowed a husband to divorce his wife if he could prove adultery, at this point the woman would also forfeit all legal rights over any children.


1866- Barbara Bodichon formed the Women's Suffrage Committee. The committee organised the Women's suffrage petition and obtained over 1500 signatures. This was then presented to the House of Commons by John Stuart Mill on the 7th June 1866.


John Stuart Mill raised the issue of women's suffrage in the House of Commons but was unsuccessful. From 1870 onwards bills in favour of women's suffrage were presented to parliament on an annual basis.


1882  - The Married Property Act meant a husband was no longer entitled to all his wives possessions and earnings.


1883 - The women's co-operative guild was established. This organisation supported women's suffrage and advocated maternity insurance benefit. They also organised education classes for women.


1897 - Regional societies came together to campaign peacefully for suffrage, known as the NUWSS. 
(see blog post National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies - NUWSS)


1903 - Frustration and slow progress for women's suffrage led to the formation of WSPU. 
(see blog post Women's Social and Political Union - WSPU)

As a woman myself it is hard to imagine the feelings that these women must had to deal with. Today we base our marriages on equality and respect, I cannot imagine entering into a marriage knowing the despair and lack of respect that I would be forced to accept, especially knowing the financial ruin and social exclusion on offer if I chose not to marry.