Originally posted on Instagram 3rd April 2022

Nowadays, women have the right to vote in all countries that hold elections. Whether they do or not is another matter—in areas where female education isn’t prioritised or where society is traditionally patriarchal there is often low turnout—but in theory they have the right.

This means that women all over the world have fought for their rights, yet so often we only hear about the UK and US-based movements.

This month we will be spotlighting women who fought for their rights from outside Britain and the United States only. Hopefully, this will bring at least some greater visibility to this global struggle.

Timeline

1893: New Zealand becomes the first nation/territory to allow women to vote in national elections

1918: Azerbaijan is the first Muslim-majority country to enfranchise women

1929: Ecuador becomes the first Latin American country to grant female suffrage – but only to literate women

1994: Black women in South Africa gain suffrage; white women could vote since 1930

2015: Saudi Arabia allows women to vote in local elections – national elections are not held

“…today’s woman is not yesterday’s woman, and she will not be able to be patient in digesting her rights to satisfy the lust of men.”

Egyptian feminist Huda Sha’arawi in her book, Harem Years: The Memoirs of an Egyptian Feminist, 1879–1924 (translated from Arabic)

See also:

• Blog post: Nüzi canzheng tongmenghui
• Blog post: Clara González
• Bitesize History: 1937 Women’s Suffrage Plebiscite – The Philippines