Manchester Statues: Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst was one of the driving forces behind the women’s suffrage movements in the UK. She fought her whole life to win women the right to vote, and is honoured by a statue in St Peter’s Square.
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00:00Let's have a talk about some of the statues in Manchester.
00:03Hello and welcome to Manchester World.
00:05This is the sixth part of a series of explainers where I'll take a look at some of the most prominent statues in Manchester
00:09and explain a little bit about their history and why they are important to the city.
00:13Today we're having a look at the Emmeline Pankhurst statue that resides in St Peter's Square.
00:17Pankhurst was one of the most prominent figures in the suffragette movement,
00:20the purpose of which was to win women the right to vote, which they managed to do by 1918.
00:25She's long been seen as one of the most influential people in the history of British politics
00:28and it should be a source of pride for all men that she called this city her home.
00:32She was born in Mosside and fought her whole life for the suffragette movement,
00:35operating for a host of different women's rights groups before the fight was won.
00:39Her statue was revealed in 2018, 100 years after the first election was held in which women could vote,
00:43although even then it was restricted to women over the age of 30.
00:46That statue was the first built in Manchester of a woman since the Queen Victoria statue in Piccadilly Gardens was revealed over 100 years earlier.
00:53The unveiling was attended by thousands of people,
00:55all joined by respect and love for one of Britain's most impressive political figures and campaigners.