The term was coined by the Daily Mail as a derogatory term for members of the women’s suffrage movement, which was active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United Kingdom.
Women claimed participation in society and equal treatment. The majority of members were middle-class women who wished to improve their lives.
Initially their actions were peaceful, they acted with persuasion, political pressure and collecting signatures but in 1912 some members adopted more aggressive tactics with damage and explosives only on public property which often led to arrests.
During the First World War the members undertook auxiliary duties to prove their action.
In 1918, the right to vote was granted to women over 30. In the same year, they also had the right to be voted in Parliament. In 1928 the right to vote was now for women over the age of 21.
It is worth mentioning that New Zealand is the 1st country to grant women the right to vote in 1893.
[Source: en.wikipedia.org]
