Switzerland, the last civilized country to withhold the vote from its women, will continue to do so, its male voters decided Sunday. A total of 201,145 male voters in Zurich County (Canton) voted in a referendum considered crucial for the cause of women's rights in Switzerland.
They rejected a constitutional amendment giving the county's women equal voting rights, 93,372 in favor and 107,773 opposed. The farm vote turned the tide since the Zurich results showed 46,374 yes votes to 37,602 nos.
Supporters of female suffrage throughout Switzerland had hoped the Canton of Zurich, the Alpine Republic's most populous and economically important, would approve the amendment and pave the way for a similar vote eventually on the federal level.
Most political groups with the exception of the Farmer's Party had appealed for a "yes" vote, but the conservatism of rural areas and industrial regions turned the tide against female suffrage.
-- Photo by Swiss Broadcasting Service: @. Caption: "In 1966 women in Basel gave Helvetia, the embodiment of Switzerland, a placard saying "I cannot vote"
-- Note: Women would not get the right to vote until February 7, 1971: @
* "Women's Place at Polls? Swiss Men Answer 'No' " (New York Times): @
* "Switzerland's Long Way to Women's Right To Vote" (History of Switzerland): @
* "Swiss Suffragettes were still fighting for the right to vote in 1971" (The Independent, 2015): @
* "Women and the Vote: A World History" (Jad Adams, 2014): @
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