Tabassom Mohammadi - MA graduate, the Department of English Language and Literature, Vali_e_Asr University, Rafsanjan, Iran

Attempting to depict the status of women and their struggles in a patriarchal society in the movie suffragette (۲۰۱۵), this paper is expanded upon postmodern feminism, a theory which sees both men’s and women’s perspectives at once and defends human rights to establish a peaceful civilization. The movie, which is based on true historical events in ۱۹۱۲ London, is far more than a film about women demanding to vote; it is also about their struggle to be heard and taken seriously both at home and workplace. Suffragette highlights the injustice, cruelty and discrimination that women had to deal with in the patriarchal society of the time which assumed the female gender inferior and the male one superior. As a matter of fact, the suffrage movement mainly comprised women who fought to gain the right for vote as well as equal chances and payments at workplace. Essentially, this paper rejects male superiority and criticizes its misconceptions via the movie Suffragette. It asserts that superiority and success can be attained regardless of gender, and both men and women must have the same opportunities in the various walks of life. Furthermore, it indicates that a patriarchal society exploits women both socially and economically. Much is owed to the women in the suffrage movement who sacrificed themselves and tolerated hardships, torture and prison to gain the right for vote as well as a voice in political and social issues.

feminism, postmodernism, the suffrage movement, patriarchal society, discrimination