Thursday, March 21, 2019

Celebrating Women's History Month with Helena Fairfax' Struggle and Suffrage in Halifax

Hello and Welcome to the Girls Succeed Blog! 

According to the National Women's History Month Website, "every year, March is designated Women’s History Month by Presidential proclamation. The month is set aside to honor women’s contributions in American history."
On the Girls Succeed blog, we are proud to celebrate women who in the past or present have made a difference in their communities, regions, states, and countries. 
I'm excited to share a new book by my friend, Helena Fairfax, who reveals the lives of women in Halifax who fought for equality and the right to vote in England. England is celebrating the 100th anniversary this year by recognizing their determination and achievement in working for the vote. 
Let me introduce you to Helena's new book, just released in February to mark this important occasion.
NEW RELEASE: Struggle and Suffrage in Halifax (England): Women's Lives and the Fight for Equality by Helena Fairfax
STRUGGLE AND SUFFRAGE IN HALIFAX:
WOMEN'S LIVES AND THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY
BY HELENA FAIRFAX

BACK OF THE BOOKBetween 1800 and 1950 the town of Halifax grew beyond recognition. The booming mills and factories were built on the labour of women and their children, and yet their voices are almost completely missing from the history books. For the first time, this is the story of Halifax from the point of view of the women who helped shape the town. This was a period of extraordinary change, but the battle for equality was long. In 1800, many women were illiterate. By 1900, there was a thriving girls' high school in Halifax, and yet one of its most brilliant students was denied a full degree because she was a woman. In 1939, the Vicar of Halifax called women's economic independence "an evil".Families were large and women regularly died in childbirth. Many faced the stigma of single parenthood or else the terror of an illegal abortion. In the 1930s, the first Family Planning Clinic was set up by women in the town. In the 1840s, women in Halifax fought for their menfolk's right to vote. In 1911, when Emmeline Pankhurst gave a stirring speech at the Mechanics' Institute, women had yet to be granted a vote of their own, leading many women to boycott that year's census and at least two to declare their occupation as "slave".From girls in the factories to the first women stepping into public office, this book provides a fascinating and moving account of the lives of Halifax's women through the key events in the town's history.

Order your copy at amazon
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Helena Fairfax tells us the stories of the lives of the women in Halifax, England in the county of Yorkshire and how they gained the right to vote in her new release. She writes in her blog "6th February 2018 marks 100 years since the Representation of the People Act when all women over the age of 30 who met certain property restrictions were granted the vote for the first time. The Act also gave the right to vote to all men over the age of 21. It’s often forgotten that before 1918, around 40% of men in Britain were also denied a vote because of property restrictions. The vote was finally extended to all women over 21 in 1928." 
Click here to read more information in Helena's blog post.
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Click on the links below to take you to stories of Emily Roebling who built the Brooklyn Bridge in New York and the WWII Women's Air Force Service Pilots featured on the Girls Succeed blog. 
Bridge Builder Emily Warren Roebling
Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP)

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