第一次世界大战中的英国妇女选举权运动

War and Suffrage——British Women's Suffrage Movement during World War I

英国妇女选举权运动从19世纪60年代开始,到第一次世界大战爆发已经进行了半个多世纪。妇女争取选举权的方式也从温和的宪政方式发展到激烈的"战斗"方式。政府却对妇女的政治诉求充耳不闻,运动陷于僵局。第一次世界大战为斗争双方从全新的视角看待妇女选举权问题提供了契机。妇女们很快从和平反战转到支持和参与战争的立场上来,她们开始从舆论宣传到实际参与,从工厂到志愿工作,从办公室到战地服务,全面参与。她们的全面积极的参与战争,使英国男性不得不承认女性所起的重要作用,从而消除了阻碍妇女选举权的三大障碍,使英国部分女性在1918年获得了选举权。

In Britain,Women's Suffrage Movement lasted for more than half a century from the 1860s to the outbreak of World War I.While the government still ignored it,the way of pursuit of the suffrage transformed from moderate constitutionalism to militant radicalism,so the movement reached an impasse.However,World War I provided to both sides a chance to consider the women's suffrage issue from a brand-new perspective and eliminated the main obstacles of women's suffrage.Women turned from pacifism to supporting or joining the war efforts;they took part in such activities as propaganda for war,actual war affairs,factory labor,volunteer work,office activities and battleground service.Their comprehensive involvement in war effort made the male admit women's role in the war,thus main obstacles in the way of women's suffrage were eliminated,and eventually women above 30 got the right to vote in 1918.