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Abstract
svanur kr i s t jáns son
W o M e N , M e N A N D T H e e V o L U T I o N
o F I C e L A N D I C D e M o C R A C y, 1 9 0 7 – 1 9 2 7
This article examines one span of history in the Icelandic women’s movement as
inseparable from the evolution of democracy in Iceland, and endeavours to relate
empirical theories on democracy’s development to normative theories which em-
phasise that oppressing women undermines the fundamental democratic premises
guaranteeing each individual’s right to freedom and security of person.
The history of the Icelandic women’s movement in the years described, 1907-
1927, can be divided into three periods. From 1907 to 1911, a powerful women’s
movement emerged, with women participating in public affairs and possessing
equal rights to men, as regards education and public office. The prevailing ideol-
ogy of the men in power did not allow for active opposition to feminism, so that
it enjoyed considerable success, including the victory of the Reykjavík women’s
list in 1908 and the approval of alcohol prohibition in a national referendum the
same year. During the next period, 1911-1922, female activity diminished in the
public sphere. Taking advantage of this opportunity, men in power attacked the
women’s movement, leading to growing disagreement within its ranks about how
to fight back. By 1922, no women were left on the Reykjavík City Council. In the fi-
nal period, 1922-1927, the Reykjavík model can be considered to have repeated it-
self at the national level. While the Althing’s first female MP was elected in 1922,
disunity then arose within the women’s movement; men began to organise them-
selves in political parties based on the class struggle and left no openings for
women. The women’s slate met with major defeat in the national elections of 1926,
ushering in a long female absence from the public sphere and curtailed feminist
influence.
Developments in the Icelandic women’s movement reflect in some ways the coun-
try’s political evolution on the whole. The 1908 electoral victory in Reykjavík and
the women’s 1922 electoral slate at the national level came about due to favourable
conditions: there was room for women in politics because male politicians had not
yet determined the areas about which their parties would contend. In order to ex-
plain the decline of the women’s movement, it is tempting to allude to the con-
flict between two opposing ideas of democracy. In Iceland – as elsewhere in the
West – direct democracy had not passed the test of experience and was rejected in
favour of a more modern democratic solution, i.e. a parliamentary one. However,
this explanation of trends in the Icelandic women’s movement does not apply. By
the beginning of the 20th century, agreement had been reached in disputes be-
tween Icelandic democrats, and the impact of the public on representative gov-
ernment grew stronger, above all through expansion of the franchise and the
achievement of greater electoral participation. Not only was the rise of the women’s
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