Ww1 Women's Contribution

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First, women’s contribution to the war effort was definitely a major factor in granting women the vote in 1918. To start with, women’s role was to stay at home and encourage men to fight. However, many realised this was total war, involving civilians as well as the soldiers. Women were needed to fill roles of men who had gone off to war, and so women of all classes volunteered to help the war effort. Many women were nurses and ambulance drivers on the front line. Others worked in munitions factories, which was dangerous, as the TNT used in the factories poisoned many women. These women made great sacrifices and some died, as in the 1917 explosion at the Woolwich Arsenal, Silverton, which killed several. Moreover, a few, like Edith Cavell, even died at the hands of the Germans. She was seen as a heroine who had died serving her country. This defeated the previous argument against women’s suffrage that women did not serve their country and so should not vote. Thus, women were enfranchised partly by a nation grateful for their contribution to Britain’s victory in the First World War. Furthermore, women had demonstrated their resourcefulness, convincing some who opposed women’s suffrage that they deserved the vote. Public opinion had changed, becoming more favourable towards women’s…show more content…
Women over 30 were given the vote as long as they were over 30 and owned property. This enfranchised about 8. 4 million women in all. This was still quite an achievement for women's suffrage campaigners. One of the reasons that women over 30 got the vote in 1918 was because of the Women's Suffrage campaigns that had been going on as far back as 1850. Women were originally thought of as delicate little things that did as men said and enjoyed doing the housework and looking after the children. These were the women's jobs and men didn't think they could do much

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