As early as 1792 Mary Wollstonecraft was arguing the
case for female emancipation.
By the beginning of the twentieth century women had achieved the franchise in
some American states and the Women’s Suffrage movement had
become a major political issue in Britain with radicals prepared to use
violence against property and even suicide as a political weapon.
Despite the achieving of universal suffrage in virtually all Western
democracies, feminism remains a live political issue for many and the
overwhelming passion of a few.