How the First World War Revolutionized the Industrial Position of Women - Case Study Example

Running Header: Millicent Fawcett First World War … revolutionized the industrial position of women Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & Name: Date of Submission: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Suffrage Movement 3 Women voluntary organization 5 Conclusion 9 Introduction Millicent Fawcett was a leader of British campaign for suffrage of women and in 1913 her group was one of the biggest movements that had taken place in world history. Millicent Fawcett did tell the group why feminism was both a political practice and ideology which was a very controversial and important issue in many countries in the world from the eighteenth century. Many different places and times, organized groups and individuals did demand for reforms so that they could improve live of women. Feminism was considered to have the potential of performing that and they would turn the world “upside down”. Feminism was political lobby group and also a way of life. It did change how the women feel and think and how men and women are affected by it and how they live their lives and the interpretation of the world. The feminism has aggravated furious antagonisms and lively debates that have showed continuity up to today (Bailey, Pearce & Barron1994, p.59). Concerns about existing feminism are back dated to the history of the last two centuries. Mid-eighteenth century is described as the start of the history of feminism. The debate of feminism started in earlier centuries by Hildegard of Bingen who founded a vibrant convent in the Fourteenth century. By his actions and writings contemporary outlook of women was challenged and she sought much equality particularly in education for women. For the writers, their impact was not much during those times. Suffrage Movement National Union of Women’s Suffrage was founded by Millicent Fawcett in 1897. Her believe was in protest which was peaceful and not being violent. She did feel that being obstructive or aggressive would ruin their mission because it would send a message to men that they were not responsible to vote. Fawcett did present arguments which were informed to those who were leading, persuading them that women were also supposed to have voting rights because women performed jobs that were accountable in the society, women did obey laws that parliament made meaning they were part of the process of making law and because women paid taxes parliament should be answerable to them. Fawcett’s campaign was slow but convincing. Majority of men who were in parliament did believe that women could never be in a position to understand the parliament workings and they should never be allowed to participate in an election. Another group was formed by Emily Pankhurst by the name Women Social and Political Union in 1903. The members were referred to as suffragettes. The two groups were slow. The first move that was taken by the two groups was interrupting a meeting that was held to the public in 1905 (Elsie 1986, P.60). The two groups of women demanded that the politicians who were addressing, the crowd to inform them on their opinion whether the women were allowed to vote and when they refused to answer the women waved the banners. The two groups were arrested for disrupting a public gathering and refusing to the fine. This led to a more violent and more extreme campaign which included chaining themselves to the areas of parliament to Buckingham palace, shouting using abusive language to the politicians on River Thames on boats, refusal of paying taxes, firebombing politician houses and attacking them and the vandalism of buildings and burning of churches. The suffragettes made use their time in prison to be noticed by exercising hunger strike. The government forced them to be fed because it did not want them to die in prison. This was outrageous because the action of feeding people is only performed to people that are not able to make decisions. The government was involved in cat and mouse act to mitigate hunger strikes. The suffragettes would not be forced to eat and they were to be released when they were too weak to take any direct achievement. When they grow strong enough they would be re-arrested and imprisoned (Cholmeley & Cholmeley 1980, p.172). When the World War I broke in 1914 Emily Pankhurst felt that it was very essential to help the soldiers and the refugees than to carry on with the campaigns. She directed the women to perform the men’s jobs when the Britain’s Men went to war. Women voluntary organization The voluntary service that was given by women in Britain during the World War I was amazing in particular when the focus was from the vantage end of the existing western world. The militaries did develop the capabilities of pointing out where the volunteer help was needed. The work collection women did offer researchers with a lot of materials on volunteer organization for women and activities which were philanthropic during the time of war (Braybon & Penny 1987, p.160). During the beginning of World War I, the government did not recognize their potential and what they were capable of, so the women enjoyed capacity for giving exceptional freedom. The women responded to their duty in their communities and their countries by putting into use the skills they had gained during the peacetime like cooking, gardening, sewing and knitting, running charities and raising money. As time went on, the contribution and the activities of the group became very important and the government had to begin regulating and coordinating their efforts. Those who did the mobilization in Britain of volunteers did have a benefit from the pre-war association in women’s political, service and social organizations which did provide “social capital” which was deemed necessary to win the war. Before the war, women did donate the time they had and communicated with their communities via the parish organizations such as Needlework Guild of Queens Mary and mother’s union. Many young women and girls did belong to the Girl’s Friendly Society and Girl Guides which empowered ladies with civic consciousness, leadership skills and service commitment to service. Thousands of women’s suffrage societies did develop over the years which they campaigned. The step to war service to these women was very easy. Researchers did not give much attention to voluntarism by women during the time of world I but they had given details on women’s access to waged work (Farmer 2006, p.154). Some of the historians do see women’s service not as advancement but they point out that their sewing and knitting as simply extension of their traditional submissive roles. Some argue that ingenuity and leadership demonstrated by the women volunteers was contributed and liberated to women’s recently acquired status within the country as the came to the end. The women’s leaders’ movement was very enthusiastic to join the war of the women’s service with their liberation. The first eruption of fighting, Millicent Garrett Fawcett who was the leader of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies did tell the suffragists to come up with service positions in order to prove their citizenship (Condell & Jean 1987, p.285). The researchers will definitely continue on the ways which women’s philanthropy and voluntarism in wartime re-inscribed or transformed women’s expected behavior and roles. In September 1915, hundreds of voluntary associations were brought together through the office of the Director General of Voluntary Organizations (DGVO) which did provide guidelines and coordination to groups locally. The same instructions were given to the nearly 80 branches of the Queen Mary’s Needlework Guild for nightshirts sewing and socks knitting to that of military standards. Each of the groups was acknowledged and they were requested to give out their documents to the Imperial war museum for other researchers to continue with their research. One year after the DGVO establishment, there was a regulation that was found necessary when swindlers and scam artists began to discriminate against the generosity of Britons. After September 1916 most of the charities which were involved in war fund raising were supposed to register with the War Charities Act. The voluntary organizations for women did meet the needs for both the people at the war front and those at home. They gave the medical supplies the main concern. Before the July of 1914 the government had come up with a small number of plans for supplying and delivering hospitals with essential necessities and to provide relieve to soldiers. The order of Saint John, British Red Cross and Regimental Association did perform these activities but were soon not able to deliver because the needs were too high. Most of the volunteers were women in thousands of supply depots which were serving distribution and collection centers for the donation of medicines, bandages and clothes. Even the regiment from the Royal Scottish Fusiliers to the Welsh Troops did have fundraising association of their own (Gullace 2002, p.61). Even Women from Britain who were living as far as Mexico, Chile and Peru did send their donations which were gathered by their communities from abroad. The women who were adventurous would travel near the frontlines and distribute donations. The women in towns did mobilize for the support of area hospitals and their local regiments. The record by the historians did reveal with much details the contributions were made by the hundreds of women from small and large communities. For example in a small but an affluent Cheshire town of Alderley Edge women very fast formed new groups such as the Surgical Requisite Guild which did sew items and raise funds which were necessary for soldiers in the hospital (Marwick 1965, p.151). Just similar to other volunteer group everywhere, the Aderley Edge group of women formed partnerships which were unexpected joined hands with the boys in the close proximity of Royal School for the Dumb and Deaf to give out more than 80 hospitals and clinics with splints. And somewhere in Alderley Edge town, Girl Guides did raise vegetables and run a laundry for the local Red Cross hospital and these did show that women during World War I continued to be empowered. Through philanthropy and volunteerism, women did attempt to bring comfort and color to the harsh conditions of the soldier’s lives. One of the issues which were pressing was to feed and house Belgian refugees which were around 250,000 displaced by invasion of German in their country. Many volunteers which were individuals and many private organizations did lend money, space and time. Even disparate organizations such as Ladies Automobile Club and Women’s Tariff Reform League they offered to give assistance. The Local government Boards coordinated the work later but the Lady Lugard did continue to give her time to the hospitality committee in Belgium (Boyer 1986, p.98). Many communities in Britain established committees or monetary funds to solve the refugee’s crisis. Individual municipalities’ record such as the city of Folkestone in south England did give us a quick look of the efforts and its scope. The branches that were there for Salvation Army, local Catholic mission and Friends Meeting House came in to the provision of beds for nearly 8,000 refugees and they were to serve 80,000 meals in a five week period between October 1914 and March 1915. Other organization local branches such as the Girls Friendly Society did help in providing good activities and raising of the vegetables for the young women who were in the refugee. The union of the community hard work during this crisis was indeed very extraordinary and the researchers did notice the determination of ethnic prejudices, religious and old class at work. Kitchens and Canteens did serve different menus to soldiers who were wounded and different class refugee back ground (Wilson 1986, p.36). Despite of differentiation of social matters, the World War I was seen as a turning point in catalyst and class relations to the reject of the good opportunity. Upper class women did take the front-line responsibility in the war relief organization. The analysis of services that were offered by women during the war helps to illuminate the social changes. Conclusion In 1918 the representation of People Act was agreed by the parliament and it was passed allowing the women who were over the age of 30 to vote. The other acts of reforms which followed they gave more residents voting rights. Despite the fact that the collection put focus on records of organizations, many individual stories emerged later. Speeches, memoirs, diaries and new clippings did help in reconstructing of biographical portraits of heroes that were forgotten. The World War I helped women to get freedom and to help the society. References Bailey,H, Barron, J & Pearce, J 1994, ‘Settlement culture and the use of the “No Order” Principle under the Children Act 1989’ , Child and Family Law History, Vol.22, no. 3, pp. 53-62. Boyer, P 1996, the History of the American People, Houghton, Oxford. Braybon, G 1981, Women Workers in the First World War, the British Experience, Vol. 45, no. 24, pp.105-36 . Braybon, G & Penny,1987, Out of the Cage, Women’s Experiences in the Two World Wars, Vol. 25, no. 8, pp.145-85. Cholmeley, R & Robert, F 1990, The Women’s Anti-Suffrage Movement, National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, Vol. 30, no.6, pp.165-89 1908. Condell, D & Jean, L 1987, Working for Victory, Images of Women in the First World War between 1914-1918, Vol. 35, no. 9, pp. 254-290 Elsie, M 1986, British Women in the twentieth century, American History, Vol. 25, no.5, pp.45- 96. Farmer, A 2006, The American Civil War and its Origins, polity press, Oxford. Gullace, F 2002, “The Blood of Our Sons”, Men, Women, and the Renegotiation of British Citizenship During the Great War, Vol. 32, no. 6, pp.56-66. Marwick, A 1965, British Society and the First World War, Bodley Head, London. Wilson, T 1986, Britain and the Great War, 1914-1918, Polity Press, Oxford. Read More