We are coming up on the end of National Women's Month, and many countries celebrated their own Women’s Days. I came across this story and thought it would be an eye opening story from the UK to share. Have you heard of the Window Smashing Campaign that happened in 1912?
In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters formed the Women’s Social and Political Union
In 1903 Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters formed the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU). This group took a militant stance when campaigning for the vote for women. Their policy of direct action was first shown in 1905 when members interrupted a meeting to ask members of Parliament if they were in favor of votes for women. However, on November 18, 1910, Black Friday, the property destruction started. Emmeline Pankhurst led a group of 300 women to Parliament, which resulted in violent clashes with police. The WSPU submitted testimonies detailing police violence and sexual assaults. The next two years the WSPU organized two large scale window smashing campaigns, one in November 1911 and one in March 1912. They were setting out to show that the government cared more about broken panes of glass than a woman’s life.
It was a secret attack. 150 women armed with hammers, clubs and stones smashed shop and office windows in the West End.
A letter was sent out before the March campaign from Emmeline Pankhurst that read, “MEN AND WOMEN I INVITE YOU TO COME TO PARLIAMENT SQUARE ON MONDAY, MARCH 4TH 1912 at 8 o’clock to take part in a GREAT PROTEST MEETING against the government’s refusal to include women in their reform Bill. SPEECHES will be delivered by well-known Suffragettes, who want to enlist your sympathy and help in the great battle they are fighting for human liberty.” This protest was a secret attack where 150 women armed with hammers, clubs and stones smashed windows of shops and offices in the West End. On the weapons were phrases such as “Better broken windows, than broken promises” (National Archives, 2018).
Following the window smashing campaign, 126 women were put on trial. For many it was a first time offense. Most sentences were from 14 days to 6 months. Yet, 76 were given sentences of hard labor. A document still survives that shows the different claims for the damage done. It shows who the claimant was, the address, what damage was done, amount claimed, and in some cases extra comments.
It is still debated today whether these militant methods were successful. They continued until the start of World War I when an amnesty was called. Women earned limited suffrage in 1918. Limited meant women over the age of 30 with a minimum property qualification. Full suffrage was not gained until 1928 with women over the age of 21, regardless of property ownership, were given equal footing and the right to vote. It can be hard to imagine that it has only been 100 years or less that women were being treated as equals to men around the world. I know I am grateful for the sacrifices of those women who stood strong in the fight for equality.
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Sources
https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/rather-broken-windows-broken-promises/
