Histoire des suffragistes radicales. Le combat oublié des ouvrières du nord de l’Angleterre

by Jill Liddington, Jill Norris, Laurent Bury (Translator)

Au début du XXe siècle, en Grande-Bretagne, pays qui se veut un modèle démocratique, les femmes sont privées du droit de vote. Dans le nord de l’Angleterre, à Manchester et dans les villes cotonnières, des ouvrières se mobilisent : ce sont les suffragistes radicales. Elles ont l’égalité chevillée au corps. Nombre d’entre elles sont impliquées dans les trade-unions, les églises ouvrières, les coopératives, le mouvement pour l’éducation des adultes. Le 1er mai 1900, elles lancent une pétition pour le droit de vote des femmes auprès des ouvrières du coton, qu’elles vont rencontrer dans toutes les usines, y compris les plus petites filatures. Elles recueillent 29 359 signatures. C’est le début d’un combat qui dure jusqu’en 1914.
Leur lutte pour le suffrage s’inscrit dans un combat plus vaste pour l’émancipation des femmes : pour de meilleures conditions de travail et contre les inégalités salariales ; pour le droit des filles à l’éducation et des épouses au divorce ; pour l’égalité des droits avec les hommes pour la garde des enfants ; pour l’émancipation ouvrière et le socialisme. Le militantisme lui-même est un combat pour ces femmes qui doivent tout à la fois élever une famille et gagner leur vie. Quand la guerre éclate, les suffragistes radicales sont antimilitaristes et pacifistes.

Jill Liddington et Jill Norris, deux historiennes féministes britanniques, retracent ici ce combat oublié. Ce classique de l’histoire des femmes, initialement paru en anglais en 1978, largement diffusé outre-Manche, est enfin disponible en français.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Feminism

551 pages, Paperback

First published June 29, 1978

About the author

Jill Liddington (born in Manchester, 1946) is a British writer and academic who specialises in women's history.
She joined the Department of External Studies at Leeds University in 1982 and became a Reader in Gender History, School of Continuing Education, until her transfer to CIGS, where she is currently Honorary Research Fellow.
Liddington stood as a Labour Party candidate in the Sowerby Bridge ward in the Calderdale Council election, 2004 - largely to prevent more BNP councillors being elected.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Jill Haiselden · Rating 4 out of 5]

It made me realise that the struggle for womens suffrage came from working women all over the country and not just the elite whose names we know. A truly inspiring book.

[Symon Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a powerful book. When it was first published, over 40 years ago, it revealed for the first time the results of historical research that have since become widely accepted. It shook up understandings of the origins of the women's suffrage movement, making clear that the campaign was built by working class, socialist women, many in the north-west of England, who worked for years to build up an effective grassroots movement.

Having read so many books that quoted this book, I realised that I wanted to read it directly! Here are fascinating stories of working class women engaging in political and industrial activism despite the conditions and the fear of consequences. Although I've read other books about radical women in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Britain, this book is full of details that I have not found elsewhere. When I came across familiar information, I had to remind myself that it was new information when this book was published, based on careful, detailed and often difficult research.

Despite all that, I found the book has one major weakness. The structure is odd, bordering on incomprehensible. It repeatedly moves backwards and forwards in time for no good reason. It often describes an incident and then says that this happened *after* another incident, which it then tells you about. It then moves to something else that happened after both of them and casually mentions the connection with something that hasn't been referred to for several chapters, without reminding you of the details. I realise that history can sometimes be written thematically rather than chronologically, but this doesn't really explain it. The structure is just bizarre (if you can find a logic to it, please tell me!). The chapter titles give only a limited clue as to what the chapter in question is likely to cover.

The second half is better structured than the first, however, and also more of an engaging story, as we read of the conflict between the elitist snobs of the WSPU and the mass movement of working class suffragists.

Of course, some of the research that was fresh when the book was published has since been built on considerably. In particular, the book is very much focused on Lancashire. You could get the impression that Lancashire and London are pretty much the only places in Britain, although the Midlands gets mentioned quite a few times. The index includes the memorable entry, "Yorkshire - see wool workers". That said, it is difficult to overestimate the significance and originality of the research findings that appeared for the first time when this book was published, and its continuing importance.

It's sad that despite more than four decades of research since the book was published, there are still many who prefer to attribute the successes of the women's suffrage movement to a few wealthy window-breakers in the WSPU, such as Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst, rather than a mass movement of predominantly working class women. But then the establishment are not keen on the idea that mass movements and grassroots resistance can change things.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spotted this in a library display marking the centenary of UK women first getting the parliamentary vote. It looked like an old volume - it was published in the 1970s - which had been specially fetched out of storage so I snapped it up. I'd already known that the suffragettes were different from the suffragists and that feminism has long roots. I hadn't been fully aware of the link with C19th socialism and the immense groundwork laid in areas of the country where more women than usual for the time did paid work outside the home.

Very interesting to read of all the schisms and problems along the way; the different unions, leagues, guilds and societies; the workings of the MPs system; the young Labour Party. How do you obtain the vote, without a political voice? The WSPU was very brave, but possibly misguided and it's a shame that that's the popular image of activists in many people's minds. Some of the later activities of the Pankhursts were certainly dodgy!

There were supporters and opponents of women's suffrage in many and sometimes surprising areas. It's well-known that the Great War was probably the major factor in the extension of the vote to women over 30, but this book shows all the very hard, patient campaigning which made this imaginable, and the other great work done to improve conditions for the majority of citizens along the way. We've just seen a statue of Millicent Fawcett erected in Parliament Square but my favourite character from this scholarly history has to be Selina Cooper. I will see if I can find a copy of Jill Liddington's biography of her.

[Annabel Wearring-Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important history that highlights the significant contributions working women made for decades prior to women's suffrage and challenges the dominant narrative of the Pankhursts being the vanguards of women's suffrage. It explores the nuances of the political activism that led to women getting the vote and looks at how the radical working class suffragists of Lancashire, who were fighting for a broader array of rights than the vote (indeed, some of the issues that the 60s and 70s feminists would focus on) than the middle class suffragettes (led by the Pankhursts). A compelling argument is made that the militancy of these suffragettes, in fact, while effective for spotlighting the vote in the public consciousness and in Westminster, may have hampered the long-term goals of the radical suffragists who disapproved of their methods as working class women without the lesiure to cause the same chaos as the WSPU's 'Votes for Women Campaign'.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating read on an important part of our social history.
The suffragettes cause were mostly concerned with JUST the vote whereas the radical suffragists had a wider spectrum of concerns, the plight of the working woman, the vote, children's welfare, education, birth control, fair wages and many other important issues but the working class suffragists story has been all but ignored until now.
This is the story of those who campaigned tirelessly on the behalf of working women everywhere even after the vote was accomplished.