In the early 20th century, women in England were demanding the right to
vote--and often faced violent retaliation. Rather than back down, the
suffragist group the Women's Social and Political Union formed an
all-women security unit. Activist leader Emmeline Pankhurst asked Edith
Garrud to train them. These "jujitsuffragettes" fought against abuse and
arrest while pursuing long overdue rights.
Edith Garrud was a pioneering instructor of women's self-defense and a
pivotal figure in British women's suffrage. This graphic retelling of
Garrud's life reveals the resilience and (sometimes physical) resistance
of her era's voting-rights activists.