Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy (1833-1918): women's rights campaigner, co-founder of the women's suffrage movement and advocate of equality for all. Unfortunately, like too many women who have shaped our history, her name and face have been forgotten.

Elizabeth was an activist far ahead of her time who dedicated her life to equality for all, regardless of background, gender or religion. The changes she brought into place blazed a trail in social and domestic issues that we are still struggling with today.

Her work directly led to the passing of three laws:

The Married Womens Property Act of 1882 (meaning that women no longer forfeited all their property and money to their husband upon marriage)

The repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act of 1886 (which meant that women could no longer be imprisoned for having contracted a sexually transmitted disease, a fate which had never been applied to their male counterparts)

The Guardianship of Infants Act of 1886 (where children were no longer seen as the property of their father who could refuse to allow access to the mother and use this as a threat to control)

She believed passionately in equality of education for girls and opened a school for girls in Congleton, where she lived for 54 years.

Elizabeth Wolstenholme Elmy was the voice of the voiceless. She fought for equality for all, against all odds, sticking to her beliefs no matter who condemned her for them.

She deserves her place in history.

Every donation will help us in our goal to erect a statue of this inspirational woman in the town where she lived and campaigned Congleton in Cheshire.

In the UK, less than 3% of statues are of women. Help us to redress this balance!

Please donate now.

To find out more about Elizabeth Elmy and her life's work, visit our website at www.elizabethelmy.com for in-depth information about her campaigns and achievements.

#rememberElizabeth