During war time women were brought in to fill the jobs of those men that had gone to fight in the war. The poster (shown here on the right) emphasized the important role women had to play. In 1893, New Zealand became the first country in the world to allow women to vote in national eletions. Australia followed suit in 1903. In other parts of the world, however, women were engaged in a bitter and often violent battle for the right to vote. In Britain, Emmeline Pankhurst founded the Women's Social and Political Union in 1903. The WSPU believed in actions rather than words, and many of its members, known as suffragettes, were arrested and imprisoned. One suffragette called Emily Davision was killed when she threw king's horse at a race.
Fact file
In Britain, the suffragette campaigners often went on hunger strike when imprisoned for their actions. The authorities did not want the suffragettes to die - and arouse public sympathy - so they fed the women by force.
resources: Tell mw why (Chancellor Press)
image 1: http://www.altreading.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/suffragettes1-620x350.gif
image 2: http://www.poppydenby.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/WSPU.jpg
