2018-11-14
37 分钟Welcome to LSEIQ,
a podcast from the London School of Economics and Political Science where we ask leading social scientists and other experts to answer an intelligent question about economics,
politics or society.
In 1832, Mary Smith presented the first women's suffrage petition to parliament.
86 years later, after a long and often violent campaign,
the representation of the People Act granted some women the vote.
Although today the suffragettes are generally seen to have won their fight, the journey was far from smooth.
Splits occurred over what tactics to use and there was disagreement within the movement over who they represented.
100 years on, all women in the is still far from achieved.
As the suffragette story reveals, identifying an issue is the easy part.
The journey to bring about the change you want may be far harder.
In this episode of LSEIQ, Jess Winterstein asks, can activism really change the world?
They marched, fire bombed and resisted force-feeding, all to secure the vote.
From the left, the right, from the radical to the uncommitted, they came.
Whatever the figures, without doubt, one of the largest gatherings, let alone protest rallies, in English history.
Two campaigns nearly a hundred years apart.
The first changed the course of history, leading to women's suffrage in the UK.
The second, despite the call coming from millions, failed to stop the UK from going to war in Iraq.
The freedom to protest is seen as a fundamental human right,
and history is littered with tales of people joining together to bring about change.