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arena of politics or engage in
public affairs; their proper
sphere was the home. During
debates in the all-male House
of Commons in 1912 some
said it was ridiculous to
regard women as ‘a sort of
china doll in a sacred hearth’,
but others saw the vote as a
badge of difference, a
‘difference of masculine
character and coercive power’
which was necessary for the
safeguarding of empire. The