Herstory

International Alliance of Women  IAW-AIF - Equal Rights - Equal Responsibilities 

Photos: IAW flag and Justitia symbol

ADF-SVF has been an active member of International Alliance of Women from the very beginning and was soon responsible for representing worldwide non-governmental organization with consultative status at the international institutions in Geneva.

ADF-SVF pioneers in favour of women's suffrage

"Without the emancipation of women, the concept of democracy is nothing but hypocrisy and lies" said Emilie Gourd from Geneva back then. She was the editor of the highly regarded magazine "Mouvement Féministe"  in 1912 and a co-founder of the Swiss Association for Women's Suffrage ADF-SVF, in short the Swiss Suffragettes...

ADF-SVF being founded in 1909 made its first full public appearance in 1912. In those years, also cantonal sections were formed throughout Switzerland.today's

Looking back on 50 years of women's suffrage, ADF-SVF,  successor organisation, is delighted with what has been achieved. Therefore ADF-SVF honors the following four pioneers in a film as representatives of the many courageous women of that time:

The famous SAFFA snail is used by many people today. One easily forgets that it was ADF-SVF that realised this brilliant idea in 1928!

In fact The Swiss suffragettes, i.e. the members of ADF-SVF, invented it to protest against the delay in women's suffrage. All the other women's organisations involved in the SAFFA, an exhibition on the work of women, had fiercely resisted making any demands on women's suffrage. 

Outraged by this, the ADF-SVF women, led by the well-known Emilie Gourd from Geneva, spontaneously built this giant snail and paraded it spectacularly through the streets of Bern on 26 August 1928.

Here is the comprehensive herstory of women's suffrage in Switzerland!