Feb 7, 2011

40 Years of Women's Suffrage in Switzerland

"True Democracy Mustn't Exclude Women!" Photo: NZZ
Only forty years ago today, Swiss men granted the women of their country the right to vote - making Switzerland the second to last European country to accept women as full-fledged citizens in all cantons in 1971.* (Last in Europe came Liechtenstein in 1984.) Considering that Switzerland always prides itself on its exemplary democratic structures and understanding neutrality, that might come as a big surprise to those of you who weren't aware of this fact. (Via Mädchenmannschaft.)
* In a few cantons, women were already allowed to cast their vote previously, but there was also the case of Appenzell-Innerrhoden, a very small canton in the northeast of Switzerland, which had to be forced to accept women as politically equal in local matters as well by the Federal Supreme Court.

No comments:

Post a Comment