On 5 May 1882, Sylvia Pankhurst- suffragette, socialist, and staunch anti-fascist- was born in Manchester, England. A daughter of the famed Emmeline Pankhurst, Sylvia carved her own legacy as a fierce advocate not only for women’s suffrage, but for workers’ rights, anti-imperialism, and international peace.
While her early activism aligned closely with the suffrage movement led by her mother and sister, Sylvia soon broke away from the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU) due to its increasingly autocratic leadership and its exclusive focus on middle-class women’s voting rights. Sylvia believed the fight for equality must include working-class women and broader social justice reforms- a stance that would define her life’s work.
The East London Federation and a broader vision
In 1914, Sylvia founded the East London Federation of Suffragettes (ELFS), which offered not only political education but also essential support services like a cost-price milk depot, a free nursery, and a co-operative toy factory for local women. She published The Woman’s Dreadnought, a newspaper amplifying working-class voices, and later renamed it The Workers’ Dreadnought, reflecting her socialist convictions, and turned her pen into a weapon.
Pacifism and anti-imperialism
Sylvia was a vocal opponent of World War I, a position that isolated her from much of the British suffrage leadership at the time and got her branded a traitor. She later became a dedicated anti-colonialist, criticising the British Empire, and campaigning passionately for Ethiopian independence. Her close friendship with Emperor Haile Selassie saw her move to Ethiopia later in life, where she died in 1960 and was given a state funeral- the only foreigner buried with full honours in Addis Ababa.
Legacy and remembrance
Sylvia Pankhurst has often been overshadowed by the more glamorous or militant figures of the suffrage movement. But history is catching up. She was intersectional before the word existed- understanding that class, race, and empire were bound up with the fight for women’s rights.
In recent years, her legacy has been re-evaluated and celebrated as that of a radical trailblazer who refused to compromise her ideals. A statue in her honour is currently being planned in London, a long-overdue tribute to her singular contributions to social justice.
