The Women’s Movement.

Written by TR Johns

One of the most fundamental and influential changes of the C20th century was the granting of women’s rights and the advent of feminism. Both are well documented in their chronology, underlying reasons, advocates, achievements, and consequences. In the turbulent years of WW1 and its aftermath, suffrage for women over 30 in Britain and for working class men (previously only eligible to those owning property) ushered in a gradual sea-change from an essentially patriarchal society. In 1918 women secured the right to sit in Parliament and were given eligibility to enter the Metropolitan Police Force. It is ironic that the C20th began and ended for Britain with Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II on the throne, both outstanding women in their way. The former was nicknamed ‘the grand-mother of Europe’, with family ties stretching far across the continent, the latter, with her intergenerational appeal, became a global emblematic role model, regardless of views about monarchy.

What follows is a brief commentary on the contributions of one woman per decade over the past century, 1920s – 2020s, synthesising certain common characteristics. These are women of calibre and courage, who have not allowed gender or circumstance to dictate, in terms of fulfilling their drive or sense of vocation.

Common threads include:

• Many had parents or a parent / adult who supported them faithfully, and often sacrificially, in exploring initial areas of potential;

• If told that they were quite exceptional in their achievements, most would have replied along the lines of, “No, each one of us had our own furrow to plough and we have put our shoulders to it, with a measure of success”.  

Collectively they present a case for contemporary women and men to stand shoulder to shoulder in fundamentally complementary roles, embracing same-sex-attraction and transgenderism, in order for society to flourish. The first two women were born in the 1800s and both contributed significantly to elements of WW1 overcoming gender prejudices, not least by their sheer strength of personality.

1920 – Gertrude Bell.  Born into Victorian England in 1868, Gertrude Bell lost her mother in childbirth, aged 3, and developed a close, lifelong attachment to her father, a progressive Yorkshire mill owner. She was Oxford educated gaining a first in modern history and travelled extensively, sparked by a visit to her uncle who was a British diplomat in Persia. Touring the world, she both excelled as a natural linguist and developed a passion for archaeology. In 1899 she re-visited Syria and Palestine, followed by a decade of archaeological exploration, moving deeper into Mesopotamia, crisscrossing Arabia and publishing her observations with vivid descriptions and photographs. She built up an unparalleled knowledge of Arabian people and history, developing relations with tribal leaders and acquiring a unique perspective from her exclusive access to their wives and ‘households’. 

Whilst tracing missing relatives for the Red Cross in France at the start of WW1, she was summoned by British Intelligence to Cairo. Having been turned down for a Middle East posting as a woman, she found herself mapping the locations of Arab tribes in the propaganda war against the Ottoman Empire. In 1921 she was chosen by Winston Churchill, along with her contemporary T E Lawrence, in the delegation assigned to determine the boundaries and nascent states of British Partition, amidst prevailing confusion. She had witnessed the horrors of the Turkish Armenian genocide and was the only woman officially influencing the shape of British Imperial policy in the Middle East. To that end she was involved in the decision to deny the Kurds a homeland and apportion them to Iraq, Syria and Turkey, fuelling an oppression that continues a century later.

As fledgling Iraq took shape, her extensive local and cultural knowledge equipped her to advise on aspects of self-determination, appointed as ‘Oriental Secretary’ to Her Majesty’s Government. The British High Commission, however, opted for an Arab Government under British control (to protect its strategic oil interests) and she acted both as a go-between and a mediator amongst the divisive factions of Sunnis, Shias and Kurds. When Faisal Bin Hussein was subsequently made king of Iraq, she became his confidante (‘al-Khatun’), offering guidance about local tribal loyalties and creating a sense of national identity to unite the provinces of Basra, Baghdad and Mosel. She wrote, ‘No one knows exactly what they do want, least of all themselves, except that they don’t want us.’ [i] 

She continued her archaeological endeavours, was president of the National Library and pioneered education for women in Iraq. Beyond this, as a prolific writer, translator of poetry, cartographer and accomplished alpine mountaineer, it is astonishing that her name remains largely unknown, in the shadow of ‘Lawrence of Arabia’. She flew in the face of so much that defined a masculine empire, crossing uncharted deserts, cataloguing copious finds and engendering a respect amongst Arab tribal leaders which endures to this day, with her name still being used by Iraqis. Despite having a deep love in her life, she never married, stating that ‘my heart belongs to no one but the desert’. She died alone, in Baghdad, in 1926.[ii]

Profiles and common strands to continue…

References

[i] https://www.rorystewart.co.uk/the-queen-of-the-quagmire/

[ii] ‘A Khatun riding by’ – Pete Thomas. May 2014