some kind of representation at the peace table surely’ . 4 Women’s war experiences and their
new suffrage opened opportunities for them within the field of international relations. The
ways in which women differed from men, in this instance, worked to women’s advantage.
Lelila K. Rupp argues that women were more connected to internationalism than their male
counterparts because of their shared political aim of universal suffrage. 5 Helena Swanwick
when discussing the injustices faced by women and children within international diplomacy
said, ‘I have often reflected… how much safer women would be if men let off protecting
them’ . 6 The League of Nations gave women a platform to speak on international relations
for the first time. However, although the League created a female political platform, it made
very little effort to challenge the gender norms that existed within society, and heavily
emphasised their role as mothers. 7 We can therefore argue that women’s involvement in
international relations was due to them emphasising the ways in which they were different
to men. Through doing this they were therefore able to contribute to international affairs
through providing a per spective they felt couldn’t be provided by men.
The postwar years saw the establishment of the Women’s International League for
Peace and Freedom, in 1919. It’s headquarters in Geneva brought women together to work
towards international goals for the first time. The WILPF interacted in debates surrounding
international agreements, as they initially were critical of the League of Nations by arguing
that their intentions were not always centred around achieving peace. The WILPF was
inspirational to many women’s organisations, as seen when they along with 28 other female
4 Mona Siegel, Peace on Our Terms: The Global Battle for Women’s Rights after the First World War (New York: Columbia University Press, 2020), p. 1. 5 Stöckmann, p. 220. 6 Stöckmann, p. 216. 7 Helen McCarthy, The British People and the League of Nations: Democracy, Citizenship and Internationalism, 1918-1945 (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2011), pp. 182-192.
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