Hombro con hombro

I watched this avidly when it was broadcast in the 1970s. Why, I wonder, has this excellent series been allowed to gather dust? It had brilliant acting and was both informative and moving. The song, The March of the Women, always moves me to tears.

I have a nasty suspicion that it's to do with sexism at the BBC. It's about women, and by women, and deals with women as people, not decorative fluff. Given programming costs, I would have thought they'd welcome the chance to air all those well-made episodes at no cost. And a re-broadcast would stimulate DVD sales, assuming they ever made the effort to put it out in DVD format.

Of course, if the BBC felt like it, there is a great deal of gold that could be mined on the subject of the struggle for women's rights: the fight for married women's property rights; the fight for equal rights in marriage and divorce; the fights for education against medical advice that it would bring on brain fever or interfere with women's reproductive capabilities; the fights for admission to various professions.

This series really impacted me as a young girl. At 13 years old it was an amazing program that shed so much light on what was experienced by the brave women before me. I was riveted and would really like my girls to see what the women before them went through especially today when we have lost sight of the womens movement in this day of bare bellies and shaking rear ends! The young women of today do not seem to realize what their sisters before them went through just to get the vote and how many years afterward that women continued to fight for equality!!! The acting was exceptional and I really agree this is one of the best series of all time. I see that Brideshead Revisited in on DVD why not this one!!

This is a great documentary of a very significant social movement that has had little attention given to it to date. The book is a great resource but the series is much more engaging. This is the type of thing that should be shown in schools to help young women get a sense of their own history. Not only in schools but it should also made accessible to the general public as well.

As they say, what we don't remember, we're bound to repeat. Just take a look at this video on UTube.

http://www.youtube.com/share?v=WWV45MuWBN4&embed=1

It's pretty amazing how a whole generation of girls knows nothing of what it took to get them the right to vote. No to mention the many other rights they take for granted now.

Having said that, I'd love to see the DVD set made available for "Shoulder to Shoulder". There really is nothing else like it out there. The one or two films available are too Hollywood and don't focus on the real issues but rather focus on the love lives (however falsely) of the women - instead of what they were doing. How come we never see that with male characters from history? I've noticed others who are waiting for it to be made available for purchase too. What's the hold up??

When the actress Georgia Brown accused the BBC of not providing worthwhile roles for women she was challenged to provide a format which did. The result was this epic telling of the story of women's struggle to earn the right to vote.

With a superb cast, excellent writing and top notch production the BBC produced a series which should stand alongside other high points from the 1970's such as 'I, Claudius' and 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy'. For some reason it is neglected and I seem to remember it was undervalued on its first transmission.

Perhaps there are those who don't care to be reminded that less than a century ago women were imprisoned, went on hunger strike and were force-fed simply because they wanted to be part of a democratic society. It was only ten years after the First World War that British women were given the same rights as men.

The programmes don't simply glorify the Suffragettes. Christabel Pankhurst in particular is shown enjoying a comfortable exile in Paris and organising an increasingly militant campaign while her followers are being tortured in prison.

The story of the Suffragettes ranks alongside the Civil Rights movement in the US and should be recognised as such. Even though they are now 30 years old these programmes would easily bear repeating on cable as an important lesson in social history.

Perhaps the powers that be are happier for us to take democracy for granted than remember its true value by showing how it was fought for.

The BBC IS Tto repeat this wonderful series starting this week on BBC4, they have shown some fantastic gems over last year including THE ROADS TO FREEDOM, SUNSET SONG, HOTEL DU LAC , MOMETI MORI dare we hope for CAKES AND ALE with Michael Hordern and Judy Cornwall and THE BELL with Ian Holm and VILLETTE it is becoming increasingly obvious these still exist and have not been shredded as were told to believe! A bonus is an introduction to the series with Sian Phillips and two of the directors Moira Armstrong and Waris Hussein. Essentially these are six separate plays giving individual movements of key figures . It shows the internal squabbles within the Pankhurst family and how they would drop people who no longer agreed with their viewpoint. It's a fascinating warts and all intelligent series well worth this new viewingfifty years since first broadcast!