Timeline of women's suffrage

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Women's suffrage in the world in 1908
Suffrage parade, New York City, May 6, 1912.
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Women's suffrage – the right of women to vote – has been achieved at various times in countries throughout the world. In many nations, women's suffrage was granted before universal suffrage, so women and men from certain classes or races were still unable to vote. Some countries granted it to both sexes at the same time.

This timeline lists years when women's suffrage was enacted. Some countries are listed more than once as the right was extended to more women according to age, land ownership, etc. In many cases, the first voting took place in a subsequent year.

Though it didn't achieve nationhood until 1907, New Zealand became the first self-governing colony in the world in which all women had the right to vote in, but not stand for, parliamentary elections in 1893, followed closely by the colony of South Australia in 1894 (which, unlike New Zealand, also allowed women to stand for Parliament).[1] In Sweden, conditional women's suffrage was granted during the age of liberty between 1718 and 1772.[2]

In Europe, the last jurisdiction to grant women the right to vote was the Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden in 1991 (women in Switzerland obtained the right to vote at federal level in 1971,[3] and at local cantonal level between 1959 and 1991, [4][5] see Women's suffrage in Switzerland).

In Saudi Arabia women were first allowed to vote in December 2015 in the municipal elections.[6]

For other women's rights, see Timeline of women's legal rights (other than voting).


18th century[edit]

1700s[edit]

1718[edit]

  •  Sweden: Female taxpaying members of city guilds are allowed to vote in local city elections (rescinded in 1758) and national elections (rescinded in 1772): from 1734, female taxpaying property owners of legal majority are allowed to vote in local country side elections (never rescinded).[2]

1750s[edit]

1755[edit]

  •  Corsica (rescinded upon annexation by France in 1769)[7]

1756[edit]

1770s[edit]

1776[edit]

19th century[edit]

Portrait of an unknown New Zealand suffragette, Charles Hemus Studio Auckland, circa 1880. The sitter wears a white camellia and has cut off her hair, both symbolic of support for advancing women's rights.

1830s[edit]

1838[edit]

1850s[edit]

1856[edit]

1860s[edit]

1861[edit]

  • Australian colony of South Australia: limited to property-owning women for local elections; universal franchise achieved in 1894.

1862[edit]

  •  Sweden: limited to local elections with votes graded after taxation; universal franchise achieved in 1919, which went into effect at the 1921 elections.[10]

1863[edit]

1864[edit]

Statue of Esther Hobart Morris in front of the Wyoming State Capitol
  • Australian colony of Victoria: women were unintentionally enfranchised by the Electoral Act (1863), and proceeded to vote in the following year's elections. The Act was amended in 1865 to correct the error.[11]
  •  Kingdom of Bohemia: limited to taxpaying women and women in "learned professions" who were allowed to vote by proxy and made eligible for election to the legislative body in 1864.[10]

1869[edit]

1870s[edit]

1870[edit]

1880s[edit]

1881[edit]

  •  Isle of Man (British Crown dependency) (limited at first to women “freeholders” and then, a few years’ later, extended to include women “householders”).[17]

1884[edit]

1889[edit]

  • The municipality of Franceville in the New Hebrides (universal suffrage within its short existence.[19] Loses self-rule within months)

1890s[edit]

1893[edit]

Kate Sheppard National Memorial, Christchurch, New Zealand
  •  New Zealand (first self-governing colony in the world in which all women are given the right to vote in parliamentary elections. Women were barred from standing for election until 1919).[20][21]
  •  Cook Islands (British protectorate) universal suffrage.[22]
  •  Colorado (U.S. state) (first state in the union to enfranchise women by popular vote)[23]

1894[edit]

  • Australian colony of South Australia: universal suffrage, extending the franchise to all women (n.b. all property-owners, including property-owning women, could vote in local elections from 1861), the first colony in Australia to do so. In 1895, South Australian women became the first in the world to be allowed to stand for election.[24][25][26]
  •  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: Local Government Act confirms single women’s right to vote in local elections and extends this franchise to some married women.[13][15]

1896[edit]

1899[edit]

20th century[edit]

1900s[edit]

1901[edit]

1902[edit]

1903[edit]

1905[edit]

1905[edit]

First Female Parliamentarians in the world were elected in Finland in 1907.

1906[edit]

The argument over women's rights in Victoria was lampooned in this Melbourne Punch cartoon of 1887

1908[edit]

1910s[edit]

1910[edit]

1911[edit]

1912[edit]

1913[edit]

1914[edit]

1915[edit]

This map appeared in the magazine Puck during the Empire State Campaign, a hard-fought referendum on a suffrage amendment to the New York State constitution; the referendum failed in 1915.

1916[edit]

1917[edit]

1918[edit]

1919[edit]

1920s[edit]

1920[edit]

1921[edit]

1922[edit]

1924[edit]

1925[edit]

1927[edit]

1928[edit]

1929[edit]

  •  Romania (limited to local elections only, with restrictions)[34]
  •  Puerto Rico (women given the right to vote)
  •  Ecuador (the right of women to vote is written into the Constitution)

1930s[edit]

1930[edit]

1931[edit]

  •  Ceylon
  •  Chile (limited to municipal level for female owners of real estate under Legislative Decree No. 320)
  •  Portugal (with restrictions following level of education)
  •  Spain (universal suffrage)

1932[edit]

1934[edit]

1935[edit]

1937[edit]

1938[edit]

1939[edit]

  •  El Salvador (with restrictions requiring literacy and a higher age)[37]
  •  Romania (women are granted suffrage on equal terms with men with restrictions on both men and women; in practice the restrictions affected women more than men)[38][39]

1940s[edit]

1940[edit]

1941[edit]

1942[edit]

1944[edit]

1945[edit]


1946[edit]

1947[edit]

1948[edit]

1949[edit]

1950s[edit]

1950[edit]

1951[edit]

1952[edit]

1953[edit]

1954[edit]

1955[edit]

1956[edit]

1957[edit]

1958[edit]

1959[edit]

1960s[edit]

1960[edit]

1961[edit]

1962[edit]

1963[edit]

1964[edit]

1965[edit]

1966[edit]

1967[edit]

1968[edit]

1970s[edit]

1970[edit]

1971[edit]

1972[edit]

  •  Bangladesh (suffrage granted upon its establishment)

1973[edit]

1974[edit]

1975[edit]

1976[edit]

1977[edit]

1978[edit]

1980s[edit]

1980[edit]

1984[edit]

1985[edit]

1986[edit]

1989[edit]

1990s[edit]

1990[edit]

1996[edit]

1999[edit]

21st century[edit]

2000s[edit]

2001[edit]

2003[edit]

2005[edit]

2006[edit]

2010s[edit]

2015[edit]

Note: in some countries both men and women have limited suffrage. For example, in Brunei, which is a sultanate, there are no national elections, and voting exists only on local issues.[63] In the United Arab Emirates the rulers of the seven emirates each select a proportion of voters for the Federal National Council (FNC) that together account for about 12% of Emirati citizens.[61]

See also[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Suffragettes.

References[edit]

  1. ^ 'New Zealand women and the vote', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/womens-suffrage, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 17 July 2014.
  2. ^ a b Karlsson Sjögren, Åsa, Männen, kvinnorna och rösträtten: medborgarskap och representation 1723-1866 [Men, women and suffrage: citizenship and representation 1723-1866], Carlsson, Stockholm, 2006 (in Swedish)
  3. ^ Bonnie G. Smith, ed. (2008). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Oxford University Press. pp. 171 vol 1. ISBN 9780195148909. 
  4. ^ "Women dominate new Swiss cabinet". BBC News. 
  5. ^ "BBC NEWS - Europe - Naked Swiss hikers must cover up". bbc.co.uk. 
  6. ^ Photograph Tasneem Alsultan, National Geographic. "In a Historic Election, Saudi Women Cast First-Ever Ballots". 
  7. ^ Lucien Felli, "La renaissance du Paolisme". M. Bartoli, Pasquale Paoli, père de la patrie corse, Albatros, 1974, p. 29. "Il est un point où le caractère précurseur des institutions paolines est particulièrement accusé, c'est celui du suffrage en ce qu'il était entendu de manière très large. Il prévoyait en effet le vote des femmes qui, à l'époque, ne votaient pas en France."
  8. ^ Lydia Chapin Taft Biography Womens Suffrage by Frances Stanford | Humanities 360
  9. ^ "Women and the vote: Page 5 – World suffrage timeline". Nzhistory.net.nz. New Zealand History. Retrieved 12 October 2015. 
  10. ^ a b c P. Orman Ray: Woman Suffrage in Foreign Countries. The American Political Science Review. Vol. 12, No. 3 (Aug., 1918), pp. 469-474
  11. ^ "Women in Parliament – Parliament of Victoria". Parliament.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 2013-05-06. 
  12. ^ "Female Suffrage before 1918", The History of the Parliamentary Franchise, House of Commons Library, 1 March 2013, pp. 37–9, retrieved 16 March 2016 
  13. ^ a b Heater, Derek (2006). Citizenship in Britain: A History. Edinburgh University Press. p. 136. ISBN 9780748626724. 
  14. ^ "Women's rights". The National Archives. Retrieved 11 February 2015. 
  15. ^ a b "Which Act Gave Women the Right to Vote in Britain?". Synonym. Retrieved 11 February 2015. 
  16. ^ Rea, Tom. "Right Choice, Wrong Reasons: Wyoming women win the right to vote". wyohistory.org. Retrieved 26 August 2015. 
  17. ^ Myers, Rebecca (28 May 2013). "General History of Women’s Suffrage in Britain". The Independent. Retrieved 26 August 2015. 
  18. ^ "Canada-WomensVote-WomenSuffrage". Faculty.marianopolis.edu. 1916-01-27. Retrieved 2013-05-06. 
  19. ^ "Wee, Small Republics: A Few Examples of Popular Government," Hawaiian Gazette, Nov 1, 1895, p 1
  20. ^ 'New Zealand women and the vote', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/womens-suffrage, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 17-Jul-2014
  21. ^ a b c Women's Suffrage
  22. ^ 'World suffrage timeline', URL: http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/womens-suffrage/world-suffrage-timeline, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 5-Aug-2015
  23. ^ Chapin, Laura (21 August 2010). "Colorado Led the Way on Women's Suffrage". usnews.com. Retrieved 26 August 2015. 
  24. ^ Alan Fenna; Jane Robbins; John Summers (5 September 2013). Government Politics in Australia. Pearson Higher Education AU. pp. 312–. ISBN 978-1-4860-0138-5. 
  25. ^ August Bebel (12 November 2014). Woman and Socialism (English Edition). Socialist Literature Company. pp. 196–. GGKEY:PAF3FSJXP21. 
  26. ^ Frances Maule; Annie Gertrude Webb Porritt (1917). Woman Suffrage: History, Arguments, and Results : a Collection of Six Popular Booklets Covering Practically the Entire Field of Suffrage Claims and Evidence : Designed Especially for the Convenience of Suffrage Speakers and Writers and for the Use of Debaters and Libraries. National Woman Suffrage Publishing Company. 
  27. ^ "Constitution of the State of Utah (Article IV Section 1)". 1896-01-04. 
  28. ^ Documenting a Democracy, Museum of Australian Democracy, retrieved 13 October 2011 
  29. ^ http://www.aanioikeus.fi/en/articles/strike.htm
  30. ^ Bourdiol, Julien (1908), Condition internationale des Nouvelles-Hebrides, p 106
  31. ^ Pipes, Richard (1997). The Formation of the Soviet Union: Communism and Nationalism, 1917-1923. Harvard University Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780674309517. 
  32. ^ See article 4 of the 1918 constitution of the R.S.F.S.R..
  33. ^ Lewis, Jone Johnson. "International Woman Suffrage Timeline". About.com. Retrieved 2 November 2013. 
  34. ^ Popescu, Camelia. "Lupta pentru dreptul de vot feminin în România interbelică". Historia.ro. Adevărul Holding. Retrieved 4 January 2014. 
  35. ^ "This Day in World History: February 6, 1935 – Turkey Holds First Election That Allows Women to Vote". OUP Blog. 
  36. ^ "This Day in World History: February 6, 1935 – Turkey Holds First Election That Allows Women to Vote". OUP Blog. 
  37. ^ http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnabu661.pdf
  38. ^ a b "Summary: Rights to Vote in Romania". Retrieved 6 October 2014. 
  39. ^ "CONSTITUŢIA: României din 1938". Retrieved 6 October 2014. 
  40. ^ "The Evolution of Bermuda's Franchise". Parliamentary Registry Bermuda. 
  41. ^ http://www.idea.int/publications/wip/upload/montenegro-CS-Guatemala.pdf
  42. ^ (Italian) Extension to the women of the right to vote
  43. ^ "Women's Suffrage". Ipu.org. 1997-05-23. Retrieved 2013-05-06. 
  44. ^ Gregory Hammond, The Women's Suffrage Movement and Feminism in Argentina From Roca to Peron (U of New Mexico Press; 2011)
  45. ^ The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
  46. ^ http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/Netherlands-Antilles.html
  47. ^ http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/Pnabu661.pdf
  48. ^ "Pakistan Ministers". Guide2womenleaders.com. Retrieved 2013-05-06. 
  49. ^ http://www.banrepcultural.org/blaavirtual/linea-de-tiempo/voto-mujer-frente-nacional
  50. ^ a b c "Woman Suffrage Timeline International – Winning the Vote Around the World". Womenshistory.about.com. 1908-04-25. Retrieved 2013-05-06. 
  51. ^ http://www.idea.int/publications/wip/upload/montenegro-CS-Guatemala.pdf
  52. ^ "El Voto Feminino en Ecuador, published 6 April 1991, accessed 1 November 2010". Hoy.com.ec. 2011-10-14. Retrieved 2013-05-06. 
  53. ^ a b Women's Suffrage
  54. ^ Darwish, Adel (October 25, 2002). "Bahrain's women vote for first time". The Daily Telegraph (London). Retrieved May 25, 2010. 
  55. ^ http://www.idea.int/publications/voter_turnout_weurope/upload/chapter%204.pdf
  56. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/timeline/votes_to_women.shtml
  57. ^ a b African Women and Children. Apollo Rwormie. 
  58. ^ http://www.refworld.org/docid/47387b6fc.html
  59. ^ https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/1999/qatar
  60. ^ "Kuwait grants women right to vote". CNN. May 16, 2005. Retrieved 13 April 2014. 
  61. ^ a b https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html
  62. ^ "Women in Saudi Arabia 'to vote and run in elections'". BBC News (London). September 25, 2011. Retrieved September 25, 2011. 
  63. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bx.html

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