Women fight for their rights
Photos courtesy of M Pictures
Did you know
Maud’s husband is played by Spectre’s Ben Whishaw.
The intense new drama, Suffragette, directed by Sarah Gavron, follows a group of women in the early feminist movement who are fighting for the right to vote.
Maud (Carey Mulligan) is a young woman who has worked since she was seven in a damp and dangerous laundry. One day, she is sent out to deliver a parcel and finds herself in the middle of a riot in Central London. The Suffragettes are smashing the windows of the department stores in their first protest at having their request for the right to vote ignored by the government.
Inspired by the women, Maud joins their fight and becomes one of the foot soldiers of the Suffragette movement. Though frightened by the risks, Maud gradually begins to recognise that without the vote there’s little hope of a better future.
With the struggle becoming increasingly violent, Maud is arrested and sent to jail. The rest of the Suffragettes realise that they have to be more daring to get their voice heard.
Support the women’s bravery when Suffragette opens in local cinemas on December 3.
Vocabulary
- feminist (n): a person who supports the belief that women should have the same rights and opportunities as men
vote (v): to show by marking a paper which person you want to win an election
foot soldier (n): a person in an organisation who does work that is important but who has no power or responsibility
