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100 Women: Check out the bizarre arguments put forward by those women who didn't want the vote

Arguments against the suffragettes just don't seem to add up

'The Government is reliant upon force and due to women's physical, social and moral attributes they would not be able to contribute to this'

'There is little doubt that the majority of women don't want the vote'

'Past legislation in Parliament shows that the interests of women are perfectly safe in the hands of men'

'Women aren't full citizens as they cannot be used for national defence, therefore should not have the right to vote'

'Female suffrage will create competitive relations which will destroy chivalrous consideration'

Scroll through the gallery to find out what the arguments were

By Amy Southall

Tuesday, February 6, 2018

It's hard to imagine a time when women weren't allowed anywhere near the ballot box - and it's even harder to imagine people thinking this was somehow fair and justified.

Today (February 6) marks 100 years since the suffragette campaign bore fruit, with women finally granted the vote in the UK. Not all women, you'll understand - you had to be aged at least 30 and have either property or a university education - but it was certainly a start.

A large number of people opposed the decision at the time - and, amazingly, they included a substantial group of women, who didn't think it right or proper that their sex should have the franchise.

In 1908 the Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League (WNAL) was created in London, and whilst it did support votes for women in local elections, this did not extend to Parliamentary votes.

The league was perfectly happy to expound its reasons for denying the vote to fellow women. Those reasons appear rather dated today - to put it mildly.

Click on the image above to see a selection of reasons put forward by the WNAL. We don't take responsibility for any laptops or mobiles that end up being thrown to the ground in anger.

Women's suffrage