Universal suffrage was first realized in the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. However, only men were granted the right to vote. Even during the Revolution, it was believed that men should participate in society and women should support men.
In the 19th century, movements for women's suffrage became active, especially in the U.S. and Europe. However, it was New Zealand, then a British colony, that became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote at the national level. The movement was led by British-born suffragist Kate Sheppard.
In Australia, non-indigenous women were granted the vote in the national level as early as 1902. But indigenous people were not given the right until 1962. Similarly in Canada, aboriginal people (not only women but also men) were not given the right to vote until 1960.
Some countries, such as Bulgaria, permitted married women to vote in 1937, but unmarried women were not allowed to vote until 1944. In many countries, women without property qualifications were initially not allowed to vote.
In Myanmar, women were allowed vote as early as 1935 but in practice, most of the women in the country could not actively participate in the politics due to the decades-long military rule. In Brunei, women can also vote, but with national elections suspended, they cannot exercise their right except for local elections.
Similarly, Saudi Arabia, which allowed women to registered to vote in 2015, has no national elections so far. In Afghanistan, women's political participation was restricted during the Taliban regime from the late 1990s to 2001. In Afghanistan, women have been able to vote again since the US-led international intervention in 2021, but discrimination against women is escalating after the Taliban seized power again in 2021.
Source: Most data are taken from the IPU database (Compare data | Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform). Data missing in the database were complied from other datasets including the United Nations documents and recent news reports.
