Should women have the right to vote?
Switzerland, only a very recent democracy? 👩👨🇨🇭
The Swiss Constitution of 1848 proclaimed equal rights for “all human beings”. However, women by far did not have the same rights as men, including the right to vote.
When did women obtain the right to vote? 🗳️
Swiss women only gained the right to vote very recently, in 1971 at federal level. My mom was born in a country where women were not considered legitimate participants in political life.
At cantonal level, the first cantons to allow women to vote were the French-speaking cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel and Geneva, in 1959 and 1960. The last was Appenzell Innerrhoden, in 1991, forced to do so by the Federal Court, which ruled that excluding women from the right to vote was unconstitutional. That was 33 years ago.
The main party fighting against women's suffrage was the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents. It’s the predecessor of the SVP/UDC, currently the most voted party in Switzerland (conservative right).
The Swiss Constitution of 1848 proclaimed equal rights for “all human beings”. However, women by far did not have the same rights as men, including the right to vote.
When did women obtain the right to vote? 🗳️
Swiss women only gained the right to vote very recently, in 1971 at federal level. My mom was born in a country where women were not considered legitimate participants in political life.
At cantonal level, the first cantons to allow women to vote were the French-speaking cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel and Geneva, in 1959 and 1960. The last was Appenzell Innerrhoden, in 1991, forced to do so by the Federal Court, which ruled that excluding women from the right to vote was unconstitutional. That was 33 years ago.
The main party fighting against women's suffrage was the Party of Farmers, Traders and Independents. It’s the predecessor of the SVP/UDC, currently the most voted party in Switzerland (conservative right).
💡 It was important to me to create this map of the 1959 vote as a reminder that many women's rights are very, very recent. And that, unfortunately, Switzerland is often not an exemplary country in terms of social progress.
Tools: Illustrator
Format: Social media
Context: Personal project
