Belgium · 75 years of women’s suffrage in Belgium

The anniversary refers to the Belgian law of 27 March 1948. It granted women, in principle, the right to vote in elections to the national parliament under the same conditions as men. They were able to exercise this right for the first time in the parliamentary elections of 26 June 1949. Since voting is compulsory in Belgium, women thereby became not only entitled to vote, but in principle also obliged to participate in elections.

Its introduction was the result of a gradual development. After the First World War, universal equal suffrage was initially established essentially for men. Certain groups of women were granted limited political rights, but universal suffrage at national level initially remained denied to them. From 1920, women were allowed to participate in municipal elections. They could also already be elected to political office, although most of them were still not allowed to vote themselves in elections to the national parliament. In 1921, Marie Janson became the first woman to enter the Belgian Senate; she was co-opted by the senators.

The delay was also linked to party-political calculations. In the debate at the time, it was often assumed that women were more strongly influenced by the Catholic Church and would therefore predominantly vote for Catholic parties. This influenced both support for and opposition to an extension of voting rights. Belgium introduced national women’s suffrage later than several neighbouring states. In France, it had been adopted in 1944, and in the Netherlands as early as 1919.

The 1948 reform abolished the legal distinction between male and female voters in national elections. The 75th anniversary therefore provided an occasion to commemorate the completion of this long process and the inclusion of women in parliamentary decision-making. The coin issue is linked not only to a single election, but to the legal foundation of political equality at national level.