ABSTRACT
Historically, Swedish women’s wish for equality with men has been expressed in several ways including demands for the suffrage. Women were granted the right to vote in local government elections in 1862, but only a small number were so enfranchised. Swedish women fought for the right to education at the same time as they fought for their political rights. Sweden is a group-oriented society. Women participate in almost all organisations less than do men, the exception being in those organisations which are religion- or temperance-based. The status of women has become an issue of considerable importance to the political parties. With the exception of the Conservatives, who emphasise the importance of the family, all the parties claim to support reforms favourable to women. Women who were active in the ‘new’ Swedish women’s movement of that time, were anxious to display their loyalty to various left-wing groups.
