Emmeline Pankhurst

Portrait of Emmeline Pankhurst

When I hear the word hero, immediately I begin to think of traits that would qualify someone to be a hero. Not just any hero, but mine. I think of a person who is strong willed, whose beliefs become their actions. They care for the lives of other people and want to make the world a better place. A hero is a person who tries. Someone who has optimism and believes in others at the same time. I believe Emmeline Pankhurst, a women’s rights suffragist, is this person.

Emmeline was born in Manchester in 1858. She grew up surrounded by parents who had strong beliefs and fought for certain rights. Her father was a part of the campaigns against slavery and the Corn Laws. Emmeline’s mother was a feminist and took her to many suffrage meetings when she was younger. As Emmeline grew up, her parents were a great influence on what would become her life’s work.

Portrait of Emmeline Pankhurst

A young Emmeline found love with a man named Richard Pankhurst, a lawyer who fought for women’s right’s to have their own finances. They were married, with a startling age difference of twenty years. No matter, her parents gave their consent, and the two Pankhurst’s were happy with each other. Emmeline had five children, three of whom were girls. Unfortunately she lost her two sons to disease; when her husband died suddenly in 1889, the Pankhurst family became the Pankhurst women. This new family arrangement led Pankhurst to fully develop her independence as a woman in her male dominated society.

In 1903 the family founded the Women’s Social and Political Union; this being the start of their fight for women’s rights. It was at this time that Pankhurst truly became a suffragist for the women of her country. Pankhurst stated: "We want to help women...We want to gain for them all the rights and protection that laws can give them. And, above all, we want the good influence of women to tell to its greatest extent in the social and moral questions of the time. But we cannot do this unless we have the vote and are recognized as citizens and voices to be listened to." I believe this clearly shows how dedicated and strong this woman was. Pankhurst was a woman who stuck to her morals, and never gave up her dream-for women to have the same rights as men, to be treated as citizens. Emmeline worked with her daughter, Christabel Harriette, to start working for the people. The women of her country.

Emmeline speaking to a crowd

After their pursuits were known to their country, the members of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) realized the shock was wearing off the public. The peaceful processions were getting these ladies no where anymore. It was time for change. The WSPU began to work their processions differently. It was a violent approach, hunger strikes and speaking out at important government meetings. Officers began to arrest the women of WSPU as their activities became more vocal. When the women thrown in jail were released, they were greeted with a flower parade and carriage from the other suffragists. They were praised for their work. Emmeline was arrested twelve times in 1912 because she was standing up for what she believed in.

When England declared war on Germany, the suffragists decided they would suspend all political activity until the war was over. The British government agreed to release all of the suffragettes from prison on the condition that these women would stop the acts of violence and help the war effort. Before, during, and after the war, Pankhurst became a great motivational speaker for women. She went all around England, and eventually her name became known in the United States, where she also spoke in different places.

In 1928, worldwide suffrage was passed. Women all over the world were now granted the right to vote. This was also the year of Emmeline Pankhurst’s death. Her whole life, Emmeline fought for women’s equality, for something that changed our world forever. She decided that she would make a difference, and that things needed to change. Emmeline helped hundreds of women find their voice- she gave them a chance. It’s not that this woman is known in history books, as the person who changed how women are viewed in society. The fact that Emmeline stood up for herself and her beliefs, even if others disagreed; makes her stand out. The fact that she dedicated so much to make others understand this change in the world, makes her a true hero.