Girls and young women across Wales are set to earn a unique Girlguiding badge, designed by a Brownie leader to celebrate the centenary of women winning the vote.
The Centenary of Women’s Vote badge encourages Girlguiding members aged 5-25 to mark the anniversary through campaigning, research, games and crafts.
Sam Morgan, leader of First Rhiwderin Brownies, created the badge after her daughter Carenza, a Guide, became interested in the legacy of the suffragettes.
“Emmeline Pankhurst and the many un-named supporters who worked tirelessly alongside her deserve to be remembered by girls who are the future of this country,” said Morgan, 43, a civil servant.
“If by completing this challenge the girls are inspired to learn more or for the younger ones there is a spark of knowledge to build on then I feel it will all be worth it.”
Morgan continued: “I feel that Girlguiding is a sisterhood that gives girls and young women a voice, similar to those suffragettes and suffragists who came together to forge that early path for us all.”
The unique badge is split into four strands, one for each age section of Girlguiding (Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and the Senior Section) to ensure the activities are fun, relevant and age appropriate.
Activities girls can undertake to gain the badge include:
* Holding their own ‘general election’ in their unit.
* Learning about a women’s suffrage campaigner from their local area.
* Designing a suffrage march banner about a campaign that matters to them.
* Baking centenary cupcakes and decorating them in the suffrage colours of purple, white and green.
Sam’s daughter, Carenza, a 10-year-old Guide, said: “The elements of the badge are really cool and the activities are fun for others. They will help girls to learn more about the suffragettes. I’m really proud of my mum for doing it.
“The suffragettes are very important women and they made sacrifices so us girls can be anything we want to be.
“They should never be forgotten and what they did should be passed down the generations.”
Helen Pankhurst, the great-granddaughter of the leader of the British suffragette movement, has shared her support of the badge.
“On behalf of my grandmother and great-grandmother, Sylvia and Emmeline Pankhurst, I am delighted to see the development of a challenge badge to celebrate the centenary of the first vote for women in the UK,” she said.
“It was ‘Deeds Not Words’ that the suffragettes felt were needed to achieve equality. This challenge badge is a practical way of honouring the past and continuing to stand up for girls and women. These are your ‘Deeds Not Words’.”
The badge comes as Girlguiding members across the whole of the UK are joining the campaign for better representation for women in politics.
Girlguiding is calling for equal representation for women in local, devolved and UK-wide government, and automatic registration onto the electoral register for all young people.
Members across the UK will take part in an array of activities throughout the year, including marching in processions, a four-city celebration of the suffrage campaign and its success, organised by community arts charity Artichoke.
Funds from the sale of the badges will go towards the work of CARE International, a charity supported by both Sam Morgan and Helen Pankhurst.
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