Suffrage
Enfranchisement, or the right to vote, is an important right in any democracy. Societies routinely exclude some sectors of the community from voting and this is entirely consistent with international norms. Normally voting in a democracy is open to citizens that have reached the age of majority. In many countries today that is 18 years. The rules vary by country, and even subnational jurisdiction, but citizens may be excluded from voting if they have resided out side of the country for an extended period, if they have been convicted of or incarcerated for serious offences or for other reasons. Prohibiting individuals from voting in this manner is considered to be consistent with international standards today.[1]
What is not considered acceptable by democracies today is to exclude someone from voting on the basis of gender. Feminists often state that women were disenfranchised from voting until recently. This is true, but what is often not stated in this narrative is that the same was true for most or all men.
It is widely believed today that when women were enfranchised they achieved a state that men had enjoyed for a long time. This is a myth. In many countries men achieved the vote only a few years before women. In Britain, for example, men became fully enfranchised in 1918 and women in 1928. Had women been fully enfranchised in 1918 along with men they would have constituted a majority of voters. Some historians think this was the reason why full enfranchisement for women was delayed.
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