“The doctor took the loose end of the sheet and began to bind me: he wrapped it round and round me, my arms tight to my sides, wrapped it up to my throat so that I could not move...”

If you’re like me, then you won’t have heard of Lillian Metge, Dorothy Evans or Maud Wickham. All ladies unlikely to break windows in their prison cells and shout out, ‘No surrender’; ladies unlikely to endure force feeding - but they did.

“...Suddenly the dark broke into a blotch of light, as he trailed the electric bulb up and down and across my face, stopping to examine my throat to make sure I was fully capable of swallowing. He sprayed both nostrils with a mixture of cocaine and disinfectant.”

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It must have been a terrifying time. What was so important that they, and many other women, took to breaking the law to make their point? Safe working conditions, a decent wage, protecting their children - equality with men, votes for women.

Carlo........

© The Irish News