If you haven’t already, today is a good day to watch the film Suffragette (2015). IIRC, this movie didn’t reach Malaysian cinemas.

This story is about the women who were jailed, beaten and abused for campaigning for their right to vote – sometimes involving elements of militancy. It also documents how many British males were not supportive of what their suffragette spouses.

Believe or not, all women were only allowed to vote in the UK in 1928, behind Australia, New Zealand and the Russian Empire, among others.

In contrast, our grandparents didn’t have to spill blood specifically for universal suffrage in Malaya, Sarawak or Sabah.