New badge for Welsh Brownies, Guides and Rainbows marks women's vote centenary

Brownies, Guides and Rainbows in Wales will get the opportunity to earn a special badge to celebrate the centenary of women winning the right to vote.

The new badge has been designed by a Brownie leader from Newport, South Wales, with the help of Helen Pankhurst, the great-granddaughter of Emmeline, the leader of the British suffragette movement.

Sam Morgan, leader of 1st Rhiwderin Brownies, created the badge after her daughter Carenza, a Guide, became interested in the legacy of the suffragettes.

Mrs Morgan, 43, a civil servant, said: "Emmeline Pankhurst and the many un-named supporters who worked tirelessly alongside her deserve to be remembered by girls who are the future of this country.

"If by completing this challenge the girls are inspired to learn more or for the younger ones there is a spark of knowledge to build on then I feel it will all be worth it."

The Girlguiding Cymru badge, which was announced on Tuesday to coincide with the anniversary of the passing of the 1918 Representation of the People Act, will be earned by the girls and women taking part in various activities.

They could include holding their own election in their unit and learning about a women's suffrage campaigner from their local area.

The Act, which gave women over 30 the right to vote, if they met certain criteria, and extended suffrage to servicemen aged over 19 and all men over 21, was granted royal assent on February 6 1918.

The first election under the new system was held later that year in December.

Carenza, 10, said: "I'm really proud of my mum for doing it.

"The suffragettes are very important women and they made sacrifices so us girls can be anything we want to be.

"They should never be forgotten and what they did should be passed down the generations."

Ms Pankhurst added: "On behalf of my grandmother and great-grandmother, Sylvia and Emmeline Pankhurst, I am delighted to see the development of a challenge badge to celebrate the centenary of the first vote for women in the UK."

Funds from the sale of the badges will go towards the work of CARE International, a charity, which fights poverty and is supported by both Sam Morgan and Helen Pankhurst.