How the global battle for female suffrage influenced Switzerland
Maori women were the first globally to get the vote. Photo 12 / Alamy Stock Photo
In many countries across the globe, revolutions, international cooperation and participatory political rights all spurred the introduction of women’s suffrage. In Switzerland however men put up strong resistance until 50 years ago. The international reputation of the country was then on the verge of collapse.
This content was published on February 8, 2021 - 17:00
February 8, 2021 - 17:00
Bruno Kaufmann
Bruno is swissinfo.ch’s global democracy correspondent as well as being a long-term foreign correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Company, based in Sweden. He is also the Director of International Relations at the Swiss Democracy Foundation and Co-president of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy.
How the women of Unterbäch claimed the vote
Thirty-three of the 86 women of Unterbäch took the daring step and went to the voting station to cast their votes â after dark to avoid the invective of conservative neighbours. Their votes were never counted. Keystone / Str
In 1957, Swiss women voted for the first time in the mountain village of Unterbäch â against the wishes of canton Valais, the Swiss government and many local people. SWI swissinfo.ch journalist Gaby Ochsenbein spoke to some of the women in 2009.
This content was published on February 5, 2021 - 14:18
February 5, 2021 - 14:18
Gaby Ochsenbein
No, she hadn t voted at the time, but her sisters had, said an elderly lady on the main road. There were journalists standing around with cameras everywhere. I was heavily pregnant, it was all too much for me.