User:Carlygould96/First-wave feminism

Feminism in Switzerland:
The Swiss suffrage movement had struggled for equality in their society for decades until the 1970s; this wave of feminism also included enfranchisement. October 31, 1971 Swiss women were granted the right to vote in political elections. According to Lee Banaszak the main reasons for lack of success in women’s suffrage for Swiss women was due to the differences in mobilization of members into suffrage organizations, financial resources of the suffrage movements, alliances formed with other political actors, and the characteristics of the political systems. Therefore the success of the Swiss women’s suffrage movement was heavily affected by the resources and political structures. “The Swiss movement had to operate in a system where decisions were made carefully by a constructed consensus and where opposition parties never launched an electoral challenge that might of prodded governing parties into action.” This quote shows how the closed legislative process made it way more difficult for suffrage activists to participate in, or even track women’s voting rights. Swiss suffrage also lacked strong allies when it came from their struggle to vote in political elections. The 1970s was a turning point for Swiss feminist movements began to steadily make more progress in their struggle for equality to present day.