Born: 1881, United Kingdom
Died: 18 August 1972
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: NA
This article excerpt is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
Deaf women fought for the right to vote
Joan Marie Naturale, Rochester Institute of Technology
If Susan B. Anthony had a deaf sister, everyone would know that deaf suffragists fought tirelessly for expanding women’s right to vote, right alongside Anthony herself. Everyone would know deaf suffragists contributed to women’s emancipation in the United States and Britain and that they lived bold lives.
As a researcher of deaf history, including deaf women’s history, I work to illuminate the often hidden history of deaf people and their unique contributions to the world. I have unearthed historical information about deaf women suffragists and assembled it into an online collection chronicling what is known – so far – about these women and their lives.
Despite harsh, discriminatory conditions, low pay and lack of recognition, countless deaf women have fought with brilliance and dedication for personal and professional recognition, including for the right to vote.
Two British women faced prison
British deaf suffragist Helen K. Watts, born in 1881, was a militant member of the radical Women’s Social and Political Union who demonstrated at Parliament in 1909 for the women’s vote. After one protest that year, she was arrested and imprisoned – but began a 90-hour hunger strike that resulted in her release. As she left, she declared:
“The Suffragettes have come out of the drawing-room, the study and the debating hall, and the committee rooms of Members of Parliament, to appeal to the real sovereign power of the country – the people.”
In 1913, she left the more violent group and joined the nonviolent Women’s Freedom League, also seeking women’s right to vote.
One of her sister leaders in the Women’s Freedom League was British deaf suffragist Kate Harvey. Harvey believed in not paying taxes until women were granted the vote – which resulted in authorities breaking into her home to arrest and imprison her in 1913.
Joan Marie Naturale, Reference Librarian, National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology Libraries, Rochester Institute of Technology