Losing out on funding due to ignorance

In case you don’t know all the details. The women chartists of Figtree Lane having been abandoned by many of the Male Chartists formed the Women’s political association.

This became the Women’s Right’s association when Ann Knight a Quaker who had been annoyed at not being able to speak at Slave Abolition conference, heard of Sheffield Women’s Right’s Association and asked to be put in touch.

She was put in touch with Eliza Rooke, a confectioner’s wife. Eliza Rooke is buried in Sheffield General Cemetery. Under Ann Knight’s chair in 1852 they became National Association.

Ann Knight knew Mary Ann Rawson as they were both at the abolition conference and both continued to campaign after the abolition of the Slave Trade.

The National Women’s Rights Association was the first women’s group to have their case represented in parliament and was at the forefront of establishing the case for women’s rights both from the point of suffrage but also women’s health and women in trade unions. To miss out Sheffield in next years celebrations is unthinkable.

Especially as their working class roots makes it a great subject to bring to young women and to get more women registered to vote.

There is a huge number of women that are not registered to vote especially in the lower income groups.

The Heritage Open Day is focusing on famous women. There are a lot of women in Sheffield’s history that should be Nationally or even Internationally famous but are not known either inside or outside Sheffield.

Here is a great opportunity for us to remedy this. So how do we get the funding from government so we can do this?

We seem to be losing out on funding to highlight Sheffield’s part in women’s rights due to ignorance.

Joy Bullivant

by email