Emmeline Pankhurst was a fierce campaigner for the rights of women, enduring hardship, prison, and male entitlement in her fight for equality. Here, Pankhurst tells her story in her own words, describing how the girl of fourteen who attended her first suffragette meeting became a woman the world would remember as an unrelenting and courageous activist for the rights of women.
Emmeline Pankhurst creció muy consciente de la actitud predominante en su época: que los hombres eran considerados superiores a las mujeres. Cuando tenía solo catorce años asistió a su primera reunión por el sufragio femenino y regresó a casa como sufragista confirmada. A lo largo de su carrera soportó la humillación, la prisión, las huelgas de hambre y la reiterada frustración de sus objetivos por parte de los hombres que ostentaban el poder, pero ascendió hasta convertirse en una luz guía del movimiento sufragista. Escrita al comienzo de la Primera Guerra Mundial, ‘Mi historia’ llama la atención sobre la causa de Pankhurst mientras defiende su decisión de cesar el activismo hasta el final de la guerra. Notable por sus descripciones del sistema penitenciario británico, ‘Mi historia’ es un documento invaluable de una vida dedicada a los demás, de un momento histórico en el que un grupo oprimido se levantó para defender la más simple de las demandas: la igualdad. Pankhurst desarrolló un estilo de protesta de confrontación que haría que ella y sus seguidoras fueran arrestados muchas veces antes de que finalmente todas las mujeres mayores de veintiún años obtuvieran el derecho al voto. En 1927 se postularía para el parlamento. Contada con sus propias palabras, esta es la historia de la organización e indignación, las penurias y las huelgas de hambre de Pankhurst y su obstinada determinación de desmantelar los numerosos obstáculos diseñados para impedir que ella y todas las mujeres reclamasen su libertad. ‘Mi historia’ es un registro de la incansable defensa de una mujer por el bien de muchas otras.
Emmeline Pankhurst was to women's suffrage in England what Susan B. Anthony was for the same cause in America. She gave this memorable speech while campaigning in the US. In it, she explains the root trouble women face when campaigning for their rights: "We women, in trying to make our case clear, always have to make as part of our argument, and urge upon men in our audience the fact-a very simple fact-that women are human beings." Though she faced harsh criticism for her "militant" means of advocacy, she never backed down, and as a result, gained suffrage in her lifetime.
The gripping memoir of the leader of the British suffragette movement who was named by Time as one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century
With insight and great wit, Emmeline's autobiography chronicles the beginnings of her interest in feminism through to her militant and controversial fight for women's right to vote. While Emmeline received a good education, attending an all-girls school and being expected to conform to social norms, she rebelled against conventional women's roles. At the age of 14 a meeting of women's rights activists sparked a lifelong passion in her to fight for women's freedom and she would later claim that it was on that day she became a suffragist. As one after another of the proposed feminist bills were defeated in parliament, Pankhurst was inspired to turn to extreme actions. While she was the figurehead of the suffragette movement, it advocated some controversial tactics such as arson, violent protest, and hunger strikes. Even today there is still debate about the effectiveness of her extreme strategies, but her work is recognized as a crucial element in achieving women's suffrage in Britain. Her mantle was taken up by her daughters and granddaughter with her legacy still very much alive today.
