Consider the following statements about the reform that widened votin…

Consider the following statements about the reform that widened voting rights in Britain after the Chartist struggle:

(A) Men who owned no property gained voting rights.
(B) Married women gained voting rights.
(C) Women working in factories gained voting rights.
(D) Women owning houses gained voting rights.

Choose the correct answer from the options given below:

Answer & explanation

Correct answer: option 4

The correct answer is Option (4) → A, B and D only

(A) Men who owned no property gained voting rights. — Correct. In 1918 all men over 21 got the vote, so a man no longer needed to own property to vote. Before this, voting rights were limited to property-owning men.

(B) Married women gained voting rights. — Correct. Married women were one of the groups of women who got the vote in 1918, after World War I.

(C) Women working in factories gained voting rights. — Incorrect. The 1918 reform did not name factory workers. Among women, only married women, women owning houses and women graduates over 30 got the vote.

(D) Women owning houses gained voting rights. — Correct. Women owning houses were another group that got the vote in 1918. For women, property still decided who could vote.

NCERT (2026-27): “Social Movements …
Universal adult franchise, or the right of every adult to vote, is one of the foremost rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. It means that we cannot be governed by anyone other than the people we have ourselves elected to represent us. This right is a radical departure from the days of colonial rule when ordinary people were forced to submit to the authority of colonial officers who represented the interests of the British Crown. However, even in Britain, not everyone was allowed to vote. Voting rights were limited to property-owning men. Chartism was a social movement for parliamentary representation in England. In 1839, more than 1.25 million people signed the People’s Charter asking for universal male suffrage, voting by ballot, and the right to stand for elections without owning property. In 1842, the movement managed to collect 3.25 million signatures, a huge number for a tiny country. Yet, it was only after World War I, in 1918 that all men over 21, married women, women owning houses, and women university graduates over the age of 30, got the right to vote. …”