Passage-VOTES FOR WOMEN IELTS READING

The suffragette movement,
which campaigned for votes
for women in the early
twentieth-century is most
commonly associated with the
Pankhurst family and militant
acts of varying degrees of
violence. The Museum of
London has drawn on its
archive collection to convey a
the fresh picture with its exhibition The Purple, White, and Green: Suffragettes in London 1906-88

14

The name is a reference to the
the color scheme that the
Women’s Social and Political
Union (WSPU) was created to give
the movement a uniform,
nationwide image. By doing
so, it became one of the first
groups to project a corporate
identity, and it is this advanced
marketing strategy, along with
the other organizational and
commercial achievements of
the WSPU, to which the
the exhibition is devoted.

Formed in 1903 by the
political campaigner Mrs
Emmeline Pankhurst and her
daughters Christabel and
Sylvia, the WSPU began an
educated campaign to put
women’s suffrage on the
political agenda. New Zealand,
Australia and parts of the
The United States had already
enfranchised women, and
growing numbers of their
British counterparts wanted
the same opportunity.

With their slogan ‘Deeds not
words’, and the introduction of
the colour scheme, the WSPU
soon brought the movement

the cohesion and focus it had
previously lacked.
Membership grew rapidly as
women deserted the many
other, less directed, groups and
joined it. By 1906 the WSPU
headquarters called the
Women’s Press Shop had
been established in Charing
Cross Road and in spite of
limited communications(no
radio or television, and
minimal use of the telephone)
the message had spread around
the country, with members and
branch officers stretching to as
far away as Scotland.

The newspapers produced by
the WSPU, first Votes for
Women and later The
Suffragette played a vital role
in this communication. Both
were sold throughout the
country and proved an
invaluable way of informing
members of meetings,
marches, fund-raising events
and the latest news and views
on the movement.
Equally importantly for a
a rising political group, the
newspaper returned a profit.
This was partly because advertising space was bought
in the paper by large
department stores such as
Selfridges, and jewelers such
as Mappin & Webb. These
two, together with other like-minded commercial
enterprises sympathetic to the
the cause had quickly identified a direct way to reach a huge
the market of women, many with money to spend.

The creation of the colour
scheme provided another
money-making opportunity
which the WSPU was quick to
exploit. The group began to
sell playing cards, board
games, Christmas and greeting
cards, and countless other
goods, all in the purple, white
and green colours. In 1906
such merchandising of a
the corporate identity was a new
marketing concept.

But the paper and
merchandising activities alone
did not provide sufficient
funds for the WSPU to meet
organizational costs, so
numerous other fund-raising
activities combined to fill the
coffers of the ‘war chest’. The
most notable of these was the
Woman’s Exhibition, which
took place in 1909 in a
Knightsbridge ice-skating rink,
and in 10 days raised the
the equivalent of £250,000 today

The Museum of London’s
exhibition is largely visual,
with a huge number of items
on show. Against a quiet background hum of street
sounds, copies of The
Suffragette, campaign banners
and photographs are all on
display, together with one of
Mrs Pankhurst’s shoes and a
number of purple, white and
green trinkets. Photographs depict vivid scenes of a suffragette’s life:
WSPU members on a self-proclaimed ‘monster’ march,
wearing their official uniforms
of a white frock decorated
with purple, white and green
accessories; women selling
The Suffragette at street
corners, or chalking up
pavements with details of a
forthcoming meeting.

Windows display postcards
and greeting cards designed by
women artists for the
movement, and the quality of
the artwork indicates the
wealth of resources the WSPU
could call on from its talented
members.

Visitors can watch a short film
made up of old newsreels and
cinema material which clearly
reveals the political mood of
the day towards the
suffragettes. The programme
begins with a short film
devised by the ‘antis’ – those
opposed to women having the
vote -depicting a suffragette as
a fierce harridan bullying her
poor, abused husband.
Original newsreel footage
shows the suffragette Emily
Wilding Davison throwing herself under King George V’s
horse at a famous race

Although the exhibition
officially charts the years 1906
to 1914, graphic display
boards outlining the bills of
enfranchisement of 1918 and
1928, which gave the adult
the female populace of Britain the vote, show what was achieved. It demonstrates how advanced
the suffragettes were in their
thinking, in the marketing of
their campaign, and in their
work as shrewd and skilful
image-builders. It also conveys
a sense of the energy and
the ability the suffragettes brought to their fight for freedom and equality. And it illustrates the intelligence employed by women who were at that time
deemed by several politicians
to have ‘brains too small to
know how to vote’.

Questions 14 and 15.– VOTES FOR WOMEN IELTS READING

Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 14 and 15 on your answer sheet.

14. What is the main aspect of the suffragette movement’s work to which the exhibition at the Museum of London is devoted?
    • A. the role of the Pankhurst family in the suffrage movement
    • B. the violence of the movement’s political campaign
    • C. the success of the movement’s corporate image
    • D. the movement’s co-operation with suffrage groups overseas.

15. Why was the WSPU more successful than other suffrage groups?
    • A. Its leaders were much better educated.
    • B. It received funding from movements abroad.
    • C. It had access to new technology.
    • D. It had a clear purpose and direction.

Question 16.

Choose TWO letters A-E and write them in box 16 on your answer sheet.

In which TWO of the following years were laws passed allowing British women to vote?

• A. 1906
• B. 1909
• C. 1914
• D. 1918
• E. 1928

Questions 17-19
Complete the notes below.
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from Reading Passage 2 for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 17-19 on your answer sheet.

Three ways in which the WSPU raised money • the newspapers: mainly through selling … 17… • merchandising activities: selling a large variety of goods produced in their …18… • additional fund-raising activities: for example, …19…

Questions 20-26 (VOTES FOR WOMEN IELTS READING)

Do the following statements reflect the situation as described by the writer in Reading Passage 2?
In boxes 20-26 on your answer sheet write

YES if the statement reflects the situation as described by the writer
NO, if the statement contradicts the writer
NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to know what the situation is from the passage.

example answer The WSPU was founded in 1906 by no Emmeline Pankhurs

20. In 1903 women in Australia were still not allowed to vote.
21. The main organs of communication for the WSPU were its two newspapers.
22. The work of the WSPU was mainly confined to London and the south.
23. The WSPU’s newspapers were mainly devoted to society news and gossip.
24. The Woman’s Exhibition in 1909 met with great opposition from Parliament.
25. The Museum of London exhibition includes some of the goods sold by the moment.
26. The opponents of the suffragettes made films opposing the movement.

Question 27( VOTES FOR WOMEN IELTS READING)

Choose the appropriate letter A-D and write it in box 27 on your answer sheet.

The writer of the article finds the exhibition to be

• A. misleading.
• B. exceptional.
• C. disappointing.
• D. informative.

VOTES FOR WOMEN IELTS READING ANSWERS