98 years of women’s vote in Poland
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
28.11.2016 10:00
Monday marks 98 years since women in Poland gained the right to vote.
A woman casts her vote in 2015 elections. Photo: Flickr.com/Nowy Dziennik.
On 28 November 1918, Polish Chief of State Józef Piłsudski signed an electoral law allowing women to vote, which they did for the first time in parliamentary elections in January 1919.
The electoral law also allowed Polish women to hold public office. They made up less than two percent of parliament after the 1919 elections.
Today, in Poland’s parliament, 33 percent of MPs are female and 14 percent of senators are female.
Polish women gained the right to vote sooner than their counterparts in the US, Britain and France. (vb/pk)
Source: IAR