Page 25 - Horley Carnival Programme 2019

Making wrongs right
Abolition of Slavery
“Am I not a man and a brother?”
Slavery on English soil was unsupported in English law and that position was confirmed in Somersett's Case in 1772, but it remained legal in most of the British Empire until the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.
Women’s Rights “I would rather be a rebel than a slave”
Before 1870, married women had to surrender all property and earnings to
their husbands, e ectively giving them the same legal status as an insane
person or a criminal. Women were excluded from being elected and were
even prevented from accessing higher education until 1878. The
Representation of the People act was given Royal Assent from George V
in 1918, giving approximately 8.4 million women the vote. The act,
championed by su rage pioneer Millicent Fawcett and su ragette leaders
the Pankhursts, is considered a pivotal moment for women’s rights and helped lay the foundations for progress towards greater political, social and economic equality.
Gay Rights “Marriage is about love, not gender”
LGBT rights equality has been on the rise since 1950, though there were laws in place against homosexuality in the UK until 1967. In 1992, the first pride festival was held in Brighton, a festival still popular today. However, change is accelerating: in 2013 England and Wales passed the marriage (same sex couples) act, with Scotland following in 2014. Then in 2015 Ireland voted by a huge majority to legalise same sex marriage, becoming the first country in the world to do so by a referendum. In 2017, the UK Supreme Court ruled discrimination against same-sex couples on pensions rights needs to end immediately.
Animal Rights “They feel equally”
Animal rights as a grassroots movement has been gaining momentum in recent years, with the message all animals have a right to liberty and life. A principal UK activism organisation, Surge, shares a vision of a world in which non-human animals are free from oppression and violence. Evidence of this movement gaining momentum is the announcement fashion designers will not use fur at London fashion week, citing a reflection of “cultural change” in consumer sentiment, with Helsinki also banning leather. We’re also seeing a historical change in accommodation of the plant based diet by mainstream supermarkets and restaurants, further supporting the spread of this ethical movement,
set to be the next biggest social justice change in history.
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