You have to have made a massive impact on the world, to be recognised by Time magazine as one of the 20th century’s most influential figures. That honour goes to Emmeline Pankhurst, founder of the `Suffragettes’ and determined campaigner who, in the words of Time Magazine, "shook society into a new pattern from which there could be no going back.” Her clarion call: ‘to free half of the human race, the women, so that they can help to free the other half.’ is one of the most iconic of all time.
The Pankhurst Centre at 62 Nelson Street in Manchester is where it all started and remains an inspiration to women as well as a place of safety and support to those who have suffered the horrors of domestic abuse. You see, this was the home of Emmeline between 1898 to 1907 and host to the very first meeting of what became the Suffragettes. Today the Pankhurst Centre is a visitor museum celebrating an extraordinary woman and movement. But it is more, much more than that. Since it incorporated Manchester Woman’s Aid in 2014, it provides a vibrant space where women learn together, take on joint projects and socialise. And through Woman’s Aid the Centre provides what can be life-saving support to sufferers of domestic violence and abuse.
Through outreach, group work sessions, children’s play, safe homes and education, its aim is to create a world in which domestic violence no longer exists. The Pankhurst Centre is one of the UK’s most significant and iconic places and the aim now is to raise the funds to properly enshrine it as a world class museum and visitor centre. It is after all where the successful campaign to win women’s right to vote started and women were inspired to fight their rightful place as equals.
