Does Pardoning Britain's Suffragettes for Lawbreaking Really Honor Their Efforts?
In Depth
As the United Kingdom marks the one hundredth anniversary of women’s suffrage, the Labour party wants to pardon the country’s suffragettes for laws broken in pursuit of the vote. However, not everybody thinks this is a good idea.
The Guardian reported on Labour’s pledge to work for a posthumous pardon and official apology for women who were imprisoned for actions taken during protests. While advocating for the right to vote, suffragettes were often subject to terrible treatment. Leader Jeremy Corbyn said:
“As a country we must recognise and honour the enormous contribution and sacrifice made by women who campaigned for the right to vote.
“Many of those women were treated appallingly by society and the state. Convictions of suffragettes were politically motivated and bore no relation to the acts committed. Some were severely mistreated and force-fed in prison post-conviction so a pardon could mean something to their families.
“Labour in government will both pardon the suffragettes and give an official apology for the miscarriages of justice and wider persecution they suffered.”
Of course, there are the opponents with laws-are-laws arguments; “Instinctively I can see where that campaign is coming from so I will take a look and see if there is a proposal that I can take more seriously,” home secretary Amber Rudd told Good Morning Britain. “But in terms of pardoning for arson, for violence like that … that is a little trickier.”