Millicent Fawcett who lived from 1847 to 1929, was a leading campaigner for women’s rights in Britain. She campaigned for women’s right to vote during the early 20th Century and is seen as one of the most influential feminists of the past 100 years.
Women finally won the right to vote in 1918, which was 100 years ago.
A statue of Millicent Fawcett was unveiled opposite the Houses of Parliament in April. It is the first statue of a woman erected in Parliament Square. The statue, by the artist Gillian Wearing, shows Millicent Fawcett holding a banner reading ‘courage calls to courage everywhere’.
The statue was unveiled by local schoolchildren. The Prime Minister, Theresa May said: ‘I would not be standing here today as prime minister, no female MPs would have taken their seats in Parliament, none of us would have had the rights and protections we now enjoy, were it not for one truly great woman – Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett.’
