Which determined group, often facing imprisonment and ridicule, championed the cause of women's suffrage?

The fight for women's suffrage in the UK was a long and arduous process spanning several decades. While many groups advocated for women's rights, the Suffragettes are specifically remembered for their militant and often disruptive tactics. The term "suffragette" typically refers to members of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst. Frustrated by the lack of progress through peaceful means, they adopted more radical methods like protests, hunger strikes, and even acts of civil disobedience to draw attention to their cause. This included things like chaining themselves to railings and disrupting parliamentary proceedings. Their actions, while controversial, kept the issue of women's voting rights in the public eye. The other options, like the Chartists, were a 19th-century working-class movement focused on parliamentary reform, but not specifically women's suffrage. Beefeaters are ceremonial guards of the Tower of London, and the Quakers, while historically advocates for social justice, weren't the primary group associated with the militant suffrage movement. The Suffragettes' determination and sacrifices ultimately played a crucial role in securing voting rights for women, starting with some women over 30 in 1918, and then equal voting rights with men in 1928.