I like to talk about the women who helped us get the rights we have now. Oftentimes when I start to research one of them, I will find this woman was not intersectional in her feminism and either drop the story, or switch it to cover that. Looking at you well known early American feminists. For Kate, I was pleased to discover that she supported Chinese women (and men), which, was an issue in New Zealand during her time. Chinese immigrants were not allowed to become citizens. They had to pay a tax to enter the country, and were not allowed to vote.
You might think this was due to right wing politics, but it was not entirely. “Progressive” politicians of the day described Chinese as “dirty and ignorant” among other things. This attitude continued well after her death and would make a fantastic story for a different Horny History. For now, let’s talk Kate Sheppard.
Katherine Wilson Sheppard (March 10th 1848 – July 13th 1934)
Kate was well hated by New Zealand men who thought a woman’s place was at home. She fought through all of the hate to continue helping women. It wasn’t just politics she was instrumental in. She noted that women were expected to wear so many layers of restrictive clothing and worked to change public perception on that. Access to contraceptives and the ability to divorce she also played a role in advocating for.
When the Electoral Act was passed on September 19th 1893, Kate helped women enroll to vote. 82% of New Zealand women voted in this election. The Electoral Act also brought the right to vote to the Indigenous people, the Maori. This wasn’t because New Zealanders weren’t prejudice though. They had successfully converted most of the Maori to Christianity, and so, the Maori were trusted and allowed to participate in the colonizers society. On top of that, previously New Zealand had established Maori-only electorates, and so, white New Zealanders felt comfortable allowing them the right to vote given that their votes could be contained within those electorates. New Zealand whites were consumed with a fear that Chinese immigrants could overpower the Anglo-Saxon residents already in New Zealand. Men were inclined then to want women to vote with the hope that they would support the dream of keeping New Zealand white. Unfortunately for them, some suffragettes had other ideas in mind.
“All that separates, whether of race, class, creed, or sex, is inhuman, and must be overcome,” Kate Sheppard.
Here’s to Kate.
Sources:
Kate Sheppard, a Biography: The Fight for Women's Votes in New Zealand--the Life of the Woman who Led the Struggle by Judith Devaliant.
Settler Anxieties, Indigenous Peoples, and Women's Suffrage in the Colonies of Australia, New Zealand, and Hawai'i, 1888 to 1902 by Patricia Grimshaw
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