Votes For Women

New Zealand Listener, Volume 15, Issue 386, 15 November 1946, Page 16

Votes For Women

) (Written for "The Listener’ by

DUKIE

¢¢ OULD you," I asked her, "care if women didn’t have a vote?" "Don't be silly," she declared indignantly. "Of course I would!" "You think that votes for women are important?" "Why, of course I do! Look how we women had to fight for our votes. All those poor suffragettes and the time they had! That poor Mrs. Parkhouse or whatever her name was-eating bread and wa‘er for weeks and going to gaol and goodness knows what. I think it was marvellous!" "And would you be prepared to do the same to get votes for women?" "O well, that’s different! You see, I haven’t the time to spare to be doing all that." "But you really value your vote?" "Of course I do. Why, it would be simply awful if we weren’t allowed to vote. And why shouldn’t we? Our brains are as good as men’s any day. I believe in women’s equality and we have as much right to our votes as the men have." "Then you are interested in politics?" "Oh well, in a way, I suppose." "What way?" "Oh-taxation and all that." "And how do you decide whom you'll vote for?" "Oh-er-well, Jim and I always talk it over beforehand. You see, he has more time to go into the question than I have. I don’t often get time to read the papers and Jim says a lot of them are biassed anyhow. The house and the kiddies take up just about all mv time, so Jim tells me all about the different ones and what they have promised to do for us and we talk it over and then decide whom we'll vote for." _ "Wouldn’t it be better to read it up yourself? Don’t you think that Jim ‘might sometimes get the wrong end of the stick?" "Oh goodness. no! Jim knows what he is talking about." "And you always vote the same way as Jim?" "Yes, of course, We talk it over and decide together." "But you are letting Jim make up your mind for you." "Oh no, I’m not. We decide ‘between us." " * * me gave up the argument at this stage, but decided I would see how other women exercised their votes. _ "I simply haven’t got time to worry _about that sort of thing. My husband always tells me. how to vote. Anyway it would be silly if we voted against one another. We’d sort of cancel one another’s votes and it would be the same as not voting at all." "Then you think it is important to vote?" ) "Oh no. I dor’t care much, but Bob thinks it is important and he makes me go along. He says our two votes may put the man jn, but I think that’s silly

because they always go in by hundreds, and I often think I might as well not bother to vote for ‘all the difference my one makes. Bob says that if everyone thought that, no one would vote, and I suppose he’s right." "Then you don’t think it matters who goes into Parliament?" "Not much. Life goes on just the same," she declared apathetically. * * * "Bert always tells me how to vote," another woman told me. "Usually I do what he says but last time I didn’t. Bert doesn’t know though. He’d go mad if he did. I never told him." Ah, I decided. Here at last.is a woman who thinks for herself. "And what made you decide to vote otherwise?" I inquired. "Well" she answered thoughtfully, "you see, I saw a photo of the man Bert wanted me to vote for and he looked like a murderer. He had the most repulsive face, so I just couldn’t vote for him. I hunted up a likeness of the other candidate and he had a much nicer face so I decided he was the man for me to give my vote to. But for goodness’ sake, don’t tell Bert, will you?" .