History
The group was founded in 1907 by seventy members of the Women's
Social and Political Union (WSPU) including Teresa Billington-Greig, Charlotte
Despard, Elizabeth How-Martyn, and Margaret
Nevinson. They disagreed with Christabel Pankhurst's announcement that the
WSPU's annual conference was cancelled and that future decisions would be taken
by a committee which she would appoint.
The League also opposed violence, instead using non-violent
forms of protest such as non-payment of taxes, refusing to complete census
forms and organising demonstrations, including members chaining themselves to
objects in the Houses of Parliament. It grew to over 4,000 members and
published The Vote newspaper. They continued their pacifism during World
War I, supporting the Women's Peace Council. On the outbreak of war, they
suspended their campaigns and undertook voluntary work, but in 1916 they
restarted their lobbying activities.
In the 1918 UK general election, Despard, How-Martyn and Emily
Frost Phipps stood unsuccessfully in London constituencies as independent
women's rights anti-war candidates. They celebrated the achievement of suffrage
and refocussed their activities on equality, including equal pay and equality
of morality. The group declined in membership, but was not dissolved until
1961.
No comments:
Post a Comment