"The Women's Marseillaise" was the former

Women's Social and Political Union The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership an ...

(WSPU) official anthem. It was sung to the tune of

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

and included words about

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

written by Florence MacAulay. The song was sung by suffragists in both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

About

"The Women's Marseillasie" was a former official anthem of the

(WSPU). The song included words written by Florence MacAulay and was sung using the tune of

. Macauley lead the WSPU office in Edinburgh from 1909 to 1913. The song was sung in many different settings, but most often as a form of protest or solidarity for women's rights in both the

and the

. The song was sung in order to lift the spirits of prisoners in

Holloway Prison HM Prison Holloway was a closed category prison for adult women and young offenders in Holloway, London, England, operated by His Majesty's Prison Service. It was the largest women's prison in western Europe, until its closure in 2016. Histor ...

in 1908. Between 1908 and 1911, the Mascottes Ladies Band often performed "The Women's Marsellaise." In 1913, "The Women's Marsellaise" was sung by a protester in Britain during the trial of two suffragettes. In 1911, it was performed at a suffrage rally in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

. Suffragists in

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, So ...

also sang "The Women's Marsellaise" at an event in 1917.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Women's Marseillaise, The Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom Women's suffrage in the United States Protest songs Women's Social and Political Union Songs with feminist themes La Marseillaise