Ejercicio Text 2 - Exercise 1 · Inglés PAU Extremadura Extraordinaria 2021

Reading comprehension: Text 2

Women's right to vote in Great Britain and Ireland: The history of suffragettes

A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organization in the early 20th century. Under the banner "Votes for Women", these women fought for their right to vote in any public election. The term refers to members of the British Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), a women-only movement founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst, which engaged in direct, civil action. In 1906, a reporter writing in the Daily Mail was the first one to use the term "suffragette". His intention was to insult the women advocating women's right to vote. However, the militants soon accepted the new name, even adopting it for use as the title of their own newspaper.

Women had won the right to vote in several countries by the end of the 19th century; in 1893, New Zealand became the first self-governing country to guarantee the right the vote to all women over the age of 21. When by 1903 women in Britain had not obtained the right to vote, Pankhurst decided that women had to do the work themselves.

The suffragettes often interrupted politicians, tried to attack parliament, had battles with the police, chained themselves to railings, smashed windows, and faced anger and ridicule in the media. If they were imprisoned, they went on hunger strike, to which the government responded by making them eat by force. The death of one suffragette when she ran in front of the king's horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby made headlines around the world.

Leaders suspended the suffragette campaign when World War I broke out in 1914. After the war, the Representation of the People Act 1918 gave the vote to women over the age of 30 who met certain property qualifications. Ten years later, women gained electoral equality with men when a new law gave all women the right to vote at age 21.

Adapted from https://www.wikipedia.org/

EXERCISE 1. Answer 3 of the following 4 questions, providing evidence from the text (maximum 1 point each):

a.

According to the text, could male members be accepted in the WSPU movement?

b.

Does the author say that the word "suffragette" had a negative meaning when it was invented?

c.

According to the text, were all the activities carried out by suffragettes peaceful?

d.

Does the writer say that all women could vote in England when the first World War finished?