Culture Spot 14: On This Day . . . November 28

On this day in 1893 women voted for the first time in modern times in a national election. The first modern nation grating women's suffrage was New Zealand. The Electoral Bill was given Royal Assent by the nation's royal governor on September 19 of that year. On this day, Elizabeth Yates was also elected mayor of Onehunga, the first female mayor anywhere in the British Empire.

Women in New Zealand campaigned for about 20 years for the right to vote believing that the female vote would restore morality to politics. They had to fight the age old belief that politics was outside a woman's natural sphere of interest and that they should keep their interests to family and home. Several attempts were made over the years to grant suffrage rights to women but to no avail.

By 1893, there was widespread support for the Electoral Bill and it passed easily through New Zealand's House of Representatives. However New Zealand's upper house, the Legislative Council was divided on the issue. The prime minister tried to get a member of the council to change his vote against the bill but two other coucilors were so annoyed at the prime minister's interference that they changed their vote in favor of the bill. The Electoral Bill passed 20 to 18!

However, women didn't receive the right to be elected to New Zealand's House of Representatives until 1919 and to the Legislative Council in 1941. In 1989, Helen Clark became the first female Deputy Prime Minister (and would become the second female Prime Minister in 1999) and in 1997, Jenny Shipley became the first female Prime Minister of New Zealand.

VOCABULARY

suffrage - droit de vote

widespread - très répandu

annoyed - agacé