An Uphill Battle For Women.

We reiterate our conviction that the great body of Queensland women do not want the vote, we are perfectly sure that in the end it will be for evil". So reported the Brisbane Courier Mail on September the 1^st 1900. With attitudes like this it cannot be argued that it was anything but an uphill battle for women. It was a battle which women and their supporters fought with tenacity, pride and determination. The women of the world have succeeded in achieving much of what was fought for – equality, rights and opportunities but the battle is not over yet. Young women, myself included must continue to fight the battle… to be a force in today’s society and make our mark on our communities and our world so that the fight of the women before us is not wasted.  We must honour them by making our contribution worthwhile and a true justification for their struggle. The women who came before us fought the uphill battle and earned the right to vote– > today’s women must now take up the fight and make that vote count. 

After the efforts of the suffragettes’, little over a hundred years ago, Queensland joined New Zealand and South Australia in granting the vote to women. The argument for the vote were astonishingly obvious.  At the meeting forming the Women's Equal Franchise Association in Brisbane in 1894, the speaker eloquently summed it up when she said, >"It appears manifestly unfair that almost one-half of the adult population should have to submit to laws enacted by the other half and that although they bear their share of taxation, they are prohibited from exercising a voice in the selection of the representatives of the people in Parliament." 

The arguments against the vote were far more entertaining. Donald Mackintosh, a member of Queensland parliament said "Women who go about forming women's> electoral> leagues and so forth should stop at home and mind the children.  By and by, there will be no more children at all." The Brisbane Courier Mail went on to say "Suppose she thinks for herself.  Over the dinner table, wife is to quarrel with husband and sister with brother.  Political faction is to divide the home and drive man's helpmate from his side.

Despite this, as history records, the vote was won and women have forged ahead in many areas. While there remain some valid complaints of glass ceilings and too few women in Australian board rooms and lower pay in some instances, we have still come a long way and we have continued to forge ahead.

We now have legislation that would have been unheard of when women were given the vote.  We have domestic violence legislation to prevent intimidation, harassment and violence.  We have anti-discrimination legislation to prevent people being disadvantaged because of age, disability or gender.  We have the Family Law Act which protects people from exploitation on separation or family disputes.

So that uphill battle to gain recognition and equality may be won but there is another uphill battle facing women today. That is to ensure that the rights and vote so strongly fought for are not wasted. With women commanding 50% of the vote, have we truly been influential in forming our Government and their priorities?  I, for one, hope not.   I hope that some of the decisions made by governments are not reflective of women’s values and desires. I hope that we are still to realise our full potential and power in shaping our world. 

Relatively speaking, we have only just extricated ourselves from the shame of the White Australia policy which enshrined bigotry in our legislation. Both sides of politics supported this for 60 years, including many women. It took a long time to realise it was unacceptable for 14,000,000 white Australians to occupy this vast land but then prevent others from sharing it on the basis of skin colour. 

We then began the long process of reconciliation with people whom we had displaced and oppressed – the first inhabitants of this land.  So began a culture that Aussies loved to say we promote – > that of a multicultural nation one of diversity and acceptance.  But what on earth happened?  As the light of tolerance began to grow, it seems somebody turned it off and the mood of intolerance was heightened by talkback radio and politicians producing bigotry unseen in this country for 40 years.  What did women do to respond to this?

The level of bigotry released into our community grew daily. The response to the appalling Tampa episode and the climate of fear fostered in the shameful use of detention centres were reflective of the growing prejudice.  Few of us really understood – fed by politicians on one hand and by media on the other.  But if any of us could really understand the reality of life for the inhabitants who fled persecution and misery and war, we could not possibly stand by and let people, especially children, live in despair in wired compounds. Even if we faced an uphill battle, we should have fought it. We the women of today who were given a say by the efforts of our sisters before us should have fought it more strongly. We should have said No to this prejudice and bigotry.

Why did we not know, or is the question why did we not care?  Why did we not collectively rise up when families, after years of trauma and humiliation, were loaded on to a chartered aircraft in the middle of the night and returned to their places of persecution?                                                                                                                                               

The women who came before us fought the uphill battle and earned the right to vote– today’s women must now take up the fight and make that vote count. 

We must stand up for what we believe – we must seek to bequeath to our children a world free from violence, oppression but, more importantly, bigotry and prejudice.  As Women we can bring a sense of peace, a sense of justice and true compassion. And as women with the vote, we must make it count. It is the only way to honour those who fought the battle to gain us this privilege.

The Honorary Justice Foxton said in November 1901 – "I do not believe in the vote for women.  I believe in short that a large number of women are apathetic."

I don't think so.  In fact, I know they’re not – we just need a reminder now and then to stand up and be counted – to face any battle even if uphill. We must make our vote count to ensure that our society is one of which we can be proud, truly multicultural and free of prejudice and bigotry. By bequeathing this to our children we honour those who bequeathed our rights and opportunities to us.