Who were the suffragettes?
The suffragettes were members of a women's movement in Britain in the early 1900s who campaigned for women's right to vote, often using direct action and civil disobedience. They were led by the Women's Social and Political Union.
The Women's Social and Political Union, or WSPU, was founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters. Its motto was deeds, not words.
The term suffragette was first used by the Daily Mail in 1906 as an insult, but the women adopted it with pride.
Protest and prison
Suffragettes chained themselves to railings, smashed windows, set fire to postboxes and disrupted political meetings. Many were arrested and went on hunger strike in prison.
The government responded with force-feeding and later the so-called Cat and Mouse Act, which released hunger strikers and re-arrested them once they recovered.
In 1913, Emily Wilding Davison died after stepping in front of the King's horse at the Epsom Derby.
In 1918, women over 30 who met property requirements gained the vote. In 1928, women gained the vote on the same terms as men. Suffragists, a separate movement led by Millicent Fawcett, used peaceful methods.