The Suffragette

The Suffragette is a recently released movie starring Carrie Mulligan, Meryl Streep and Helena Bonham Carter. These leading ladies act with such vivacious attitudes, portraying the fight that true suffragettes had to endure. I saw maybe two commercials for this movie, and I wasn't surprised. This seems to be the first "major" motion picture that has focused on a women's rights issue.
Suffragettes fought for women's right to vote. It was believed that if women had the right to vote, social chaos would break out and society would become unorganized. They fought for their mothers, sisters and future daughters rights to vote and be independent women. These women were seen as social outcasts. Their only job was to be a seamstress or launder, and go home and take care of their husbands. They were viewed as property and subordinate individuals without any thinking capabilities.

The Suffragette focuses on the suffering that women faced if they involved themselves in the movement. Peaceful protests turned into violent riots as women tried to avoid being beaten by police. Women were imprisoned, but sometimes prison was avoidable because the police knew husbands would teach their wives a lesson. Women went on hunger strikes and were force fed through a nose tube. At the end of the film, one of the Suffragettes, Emily, dies for the movement. She represented a martyr for the movement, which sparked an uproar of support for women's suffrage.

This movie did a great job of portraying the battles that women of the past have endured for women of today to be able to have basic liberties. Saudi Arabia just recently allowed women to vote, in 2015. Twelve months ago, women in Saudi Arabia did not have the ability to affect social change through a ballot. That is unacceptable.

The movie had only been out for three days when I went. It was a Sunday afternoon, a good afternoon for a movie. There were five other people there, five. They were all women. A couple middle aged women, a grandmother and a granddaughter, and my friends and I. I don't expect many men to attend this movie, most men don't even think feminism is a necessity in today's world.

The Suffragette should be seen by everyone. It shows the bravery that Suffragette's fought with, the blood, sweat and tears that they shed to change the lives of the millions of women that would come after them. Watch the movie, it's 106 minutes that you won't regret!

stay peaceful (and informed)!!