Question

Write a note on The role of women in nationalist struggles

Answer 1

• Opposition movements were organized by women demanding equal political rights, throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
• Women of the liberal middle classes demanded for constitutionalism with national unification, in parts of Europe where independent nation-states did not yet exist. Examples were Poland, Italy, Germany, Austro-Hungarian empire.
• Demands for the creation of a nation-state on parliamentary principles – freedom of association, freedom of the press and a constitution, were pushed by taking advantage of popular unrest.
• In Germany, large numbers of women had actively participated over the years in the liberal movements, however, within the liberal movement, the issue of extending political rights to women was mired in controversies.
• Women had taken part in demonstrations and political meetings, founded newspapers, and formed their own political associations. Despite all these proactive actions by women, during the election of the Assembly, in Germany, women were denied suffrage rights
• Women were admitted only as observers to stand in the visitors’ gallery when Frankfurt Parliament convened in the church of St. Paul.