Suffragettes promoting the Women's Exhibition (1909) by Broom, ChristinaMuseum of London
Women have been making history long before it was recorded, with many stories being left out of the school books. But while figures are forgotten, places remain. Let's travel to five significant sites to spotlight the events that changed women's history forever.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony (1870) by Napoleon SaronySmithsonian's National Portrait Gallery
1. Seneca Falls, New York
Seneca Falls was home to Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the principal founder of the U.S women’s equality movement. In 1848, Stanton organized the first women's rights convention in the town, kickstarting a movement that would change the lives of women around the world forever.
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Later she wrote the Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances, a call for change which was ratified at the convention. Today you can visit a number of sites dedicated to Stanton and her work, including her house and the Wesleyan Chapel where the convention took place.
Emily Wilding Davison (1913-06-04)Original Source: LSE Library
2. Epsom Racecourse, England
Women have often had to resort to extraordinary lengths to get their voices heard. Few more so than Emily Wilding Davison, a 40-year-old teacher who was killed when she threw herself in front of the king’s horse as it ran in the Epsom Derby in June 1913.
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Historians are still unsure if Davison had planned to kill herself that day. Her bold actions drew worldwide attention to the suffragette cause and made headlines across the country. As a result, the UK Parliament finally gave some women the right to vote years later in 1918.
3. Abeokuta, Nigeria
Founded in 1953, Federation of Nigerian Women's Societies (FNWS) was a fundamental group fighting for Nigerian women's rights. However, it was an earlier conference held in the city of Abeokuta that kickstarted the foundation of this group.
Pioneering activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti organised this conference on women's suffrage in Abeokuta and over the two-day event, over 400 delegate turned up. It was amongst these participants that came together to form the FNWS, paving the way forward for Nigerian women's rights.
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4. State Capitol, Cheyenne, Wyoming
In 1869, the Wyoming Territorial Legislature passed a bill that allowed all women aged over 21 the right to vote. This groundbreaking bill quickly passed the Democratic legislature and was signed by the Republican governor.
Women's Suffrage Memorabilia 1890-1917 (1890/1917) by Ken Florey--Image from his website at womansuffragememorabilia.comWomen's Suffrage Memorabilia
This bill also gave women the right to hold public office, own and inherit property, and take guardianship of children. In 1870, a woman named Esther Morris became the first female Justice of the Peace in the territory, ruling on 27 cases during her time in office.
Iceland (2017-12-08)NASA
5. Reykjavik, Iceland
Women have long been underappreciated in countries around the world and in 1975, the women of Iceland decided prove just how essential they were to society by calling a mass strike, or ‘Woman’s Day Off’. On 24 October, 25,000 women took to the streets of Reykjavik.
Around 90% of the country’s women refused to go to work, cook, clean, or take care of children during the strike. The mass action had a big impact in this small country and just five years later, in 1980, Vigdis Finnbogadottir became the first female leader of Iceland.
Rosa Parks by Library of CongressNational Women's Hall of Fame
6. The Cleveland Avenue Bus, Montgomery, Alabama
It’s important to remember that women’s history is world history. Few things incapsulate this more powerfully than the events of 1 December 1955. On that Thursday evening, a seamstress called Rosa Parks was travelling back to her home in Montgomery, Alabama.
Rosa Parks Being Fingerprinted, Montgomery, Alabama (1956/1956) by Unknown PhotographerHigh Museum of Art
When the bus driver asked Parks to give up her seat for a white passenger, she refused and was soon arrested. The event led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a key event in the U.S Civil Rights Movement and the end of segregation in the American South.
Opening of the First School for Girls by Savitribai Phule and Jyotirao Phule (2016) by Malvika AsherZubaan
7. Pune, India
The city of Pune in India is where the social reformer Savitribai Phule and her husband Jyotirao founded the first school for girls in India in 1848. Savitribai also became the first female teacher in India.
Setting Up the Shelter and Adoption of Yashwantrao by Savitribai Phule (2016) by Malvika AsherZubaan
This trailblazing move allowed Savitribai and Jyotirao to establish an education society later in 1853, that opened more schools for girls and women from all classes, in surrounding villages.
