Women's suffrage refers to the right of women to participate in democratic processes by voting on the same basis as men. In medieval and modern periods in Europe, the right to vote was generally severely limited for all by factors such as age, property, and gender. The development of the modern democratic state has been characterized internationally by the erosion of these various limitations following periods of collective struggle. Women's right to vote was achieved as part of this modernization process at different times and in different national contexts, although very few countries granted women the right to vote in elections before the 20th century (Freedman, p. 63). The first convention organized to campaign for women's rights in the United States was held in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. Most of the women present, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, had been actively involved in the campaign anti-slavery and developed their political and philosophical arguments in favor of women's rights in the United States. the equality of the United States Declaration of Independence's articulation of the unalienable rights to life, independence, and the pursuit of happiness. By the end of the 19th century, a number of states, including Wyoming and Utah, had granted women the right to vote in national elections, but it was not until 1920, and with the support of President Woodrow Wilson, that the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibited sex-based exclusions from voting at all state and federal levels, was ratified and women's right to vote was achieved. Similarly, in the United Kingdom there was a mixture of parliamentary and extra-parliamentary activism from the mid-19th century until women finally gained the right to vote. voting middle of paper ......ions, organized on the basis of widespread and equal suffrage, is fundamental. Another Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women was approved by the United Nations in 1979 and clearly established the right of women to participate on an equal basis in all phases of government democratic. This international consensus has been tested many times, and there are still a number of states in which women do not have the right to vote, or at least have not granted it on a equality with men. The establishment and preservation of women's right to vote therefore remains an active goal of political activism across the world. Works Cited Freedman, EB No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women. New York: Ballantine, 2002. McElroy, W. Freedom for Women: Liberty and Feminism in the 21st Century. New York: Ivan R. Dee, 2002.