{"id":837388,"date":"2023-10-09T08:50:57","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T06:50:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/talenti.pl\/?post_type=materialy&p=837388"},"modified":"2025-09-16T17:49:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T15:49:13","slug":"women-and-the-right-to-vote-why-is-it-worth-voting","status":"publish","type":"materialy","link":"https:\/\/talenti.pl\/en\/materials\/women-and-the-right-to-vote-why-is-it-worth-voting\/","title":{"rendered":"Women and the right to vote: why is it worth voting?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Did you know that back in 1917 women in Poland (and not only) did not have the right to vote? Being able to vote is our right and privilege. Did you know that the authors of the “boring” reading assignments in our Polish classes also had another activist side? Find out what the struggle for voting rights in Poland looked like and why it is worth participating in elections.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The right to vote. How was it with women?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Voting rights were not granted to women by nature, God or men. Women won them with blood, sweat and tears. However, we don’t learn about it in school, and the names of suffragettes are still unknown to many. History is portrayed from the male perspective, so it is well complemented by herstory<\/strong>. A crucial part of the equation is women gaining the right to vote. This is an advancement in human history and a milestone towards equal rights for women and men..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Voting rights in Poland: how did it start?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Women’s and feminist movements in Poland boast a long-standing tradition, diverse form and many successes. It all began in the 18th century<\/strong> and was correlated with the fight for independence. The first organisations were formed after the Ko\u015bciuszko Insurrection. It was the Women’s Patriotic Charity Society, led by Klementyna Ta\u0144ska-Hoffmanowa (1798-1845) in Warsaw.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

19th century<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Between 1861 and 1864, there was an underground Society of Five, a secret patriotic organisation of women, operating in Warsaw. It was founded by Paulina Krokowa, Seweryna Pruszakowska and E. Dzieko\u0144ska. During the January Insurrection, the Women’s Committee was active in Krak\u00f3w, where women took care of wounded insurgents, those arrested and the families of those killed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Silesia, Women’s Societies also began to emerge, as did the movement’s press organ called “G\u0142os Polek” (Eng. “The Voice of Polish Women”). In Pozna\u0144, the Society of Friends of Mutual Education and Care for Children “Warta” was founded under the guidance of Aniela Tu\u0142odziecka and her sister Zofia. Aniela Tu\u0142odziecka was a crucial figure: she represented the Greater Poland Voivodeship’s community of women at women’s congresses for all three annexed partitions of the country. She was also one of the initiators of the first women’s trade union – the Association of Female Personnel in Trade and Industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1877, Filipina Plaskowicka (1847-1881) founded the first Association of Rural Housewives in Janis\u0142awice, near Skierniewice. Between 1830 and 1850 there was a secret society of Female Enthusiasts founded by Narcyza \u017bmichowska<\/strong>. The objective of the organisation was to encourage women to take public action and to liberalize their customs (at the time this meant, for example, cutting their hair and smoking cigars). Eliza Orzeszkowa<\/strong>, a well-known novelist, played a key role here. She fought above all for women’s rights to work and education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

20th century<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another important female activist was Zofia Na\u0142kowska<\/strong>, who spoke about women’s political and moral rights at a convention in Krak\u00f3w in 1906. She is the author of the famous manifesto “We want all of life”, which meant: “Not only civil rights and equality in civil law. Not only equal upbringing and one morality for boys and girls, not only the elimination of dependence in marriage, and prohibition of prostitution, but also the right to manage oneself, and to earn money… and the right to love (…) We want all of life” [quoted after Zofia Na\u0142kowska].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 1918<\/strong>, by order of the Temporary Head of Poland Jozef Pilsudski, voting rights were granted to Polish women. The fact that women and men had the right to vote on equal terms opened the gateways for the female electorate. Women’s formations began to grow and a part of the campaign was directed at women. Did you know that in Switzerland women were only allowed to vote since 1990?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What did the first female members of parliament do?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The achievements of the first female MPs (Gabriela Balicka, Maria Moczyd\u0142owska, Zofia Moraczewska) are impressive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n