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Motion · S6M-03682 · 17 Mar 2022

The Bravery of the Women of the Scottish Suffrage Movement

Lodged by Russell Findlay (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party) Standard Motion 30 supporters

The motion

That the Parliament recognises the Scottish suffrage movement whose deeds not words, it considers, progressed the pursuit of female enfranchisement across the United Kingdom; understands that March 2022 marks the 110th anniversary of the jailing of Emmeline Pankhurst and 148 other women for a mass window-smashing campaign in London; further understands that 11 of the 149 women arrested were from Scotland, including Edinburgh nurse, Edith Hudson, Janie Allan from Glasgow, and Glasgow sisters, Margaret and Frances McPhun, who all went on hunger strike in Holloway prison and were force fed; believes that Kent-born Ethel Moorhead was the first suffragette to be force fed in Scotland, at Edinburgh’s Calton jail in February 1914; recognises that suffragette, Frances Gordon, from Croydon, was prosecuted at the High Court in Glasgow for attempted fire-raising and understands that when leaving court she said "trust in God, constant war and fight on"; understands that she was force fed in Perth Prison, as was Arabella Scott, from Dunoon, who later described a force-feeding tube being pushed into her stomach as pieces of her broken teeth and blood washed around in her mouth; further understands that others, including Frances Parker and Maude Edwards, were force fed in Perth prison; expresses remorse at what it sees as society’s cruel and inhumane treatment of those who were prosecuted and imprisoned; notes reports that some suffragettes used aliases to hide their middle or upper class status in order to prevent the authorities treating them more favourably; regrets that many of these women’s brave and selfless acts are not, it believes, given the recognition they merit, and calls on public institutions to consider what steps can be taken to do more to improve recognition; commends these women and the many others who bravely put their lives and livelihoods on the line across the United Kingdom to campaign for the right to vote; notes that the theme of this year’s International Women’s Day, on 8 March 2022, was "Break the Bias", and expresses solidarity with women in the UK and elsewhere around the world who continue to campaign for equality.

Supporters (30)

Source: the Scottish Parliament motions and amendments record.