London opens public exhibition for suffrages
Sadiq Khan today opens a landmark public exhibition to mark 100 years since women secured the right to the vote.
As part of London's #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign, 59 life-sized images of central figures of the suffrage movement, many of whom are unsung heroes whose contribution is only now coming to light, will be unveiled in Trafalgar Square.
The Representation of the People Act was passed on 6 February 1918 giving some women the vote provided they are aged over 30 and either they, or their husband, meet a property qualification. Working class women and anyone aged over 21 secured the right to vote 10 years later.
"In 2018, we want to commemorate the huge progress made in 1918 where some women, not all women, were first given the right to vote," said Khan at a press conference last week. "As well as marking this progress, importantly, we also want to use it as a springboard to go forward to fight gender equality and finally achieve it."
The exhibition will be open from 9am until 7pm today before moving to various venues including the Museum of London. Khan stressed that not everyone featured in the life-sized photographs will be familiar. Naturally, the showcase will honour the likes of Emily Wilding Davison and the Pankhursts, but lesser-known figures will also be celebrated. He singled out a working-class suffrage speaker called Jessie Craigen with excellent oratory skills who was known for reaching the crowds where the middle classes could not.
"We were keen to make sure that the working classes were involved in this exhibition too," said Khan. "We all know the famous Suffragettes or Suffragettes, but they're all from a certain background. Actually, the working classes were involved in this campaign as well."
Over the course of the year, a number of activities are planned to celebrate this achievement. In spring, the first statue of a woman will be erected in Parliament Square, a tribute to British suffragette Millicent Fawcett, designed by sculptor Gillian Wearing.
"The point that I feel strongly about is that if you're a girl or a young woman growing up in this city and you see these statues of brilliant people around you and they all happen to be blokes, what does that say to your sense of achievement, aspiration and accomplishment?" he asked.
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