New Zealand became the first self-governing country to give women the vote in 1893.
The Electoral Act 1893 granted women the right to vote in parliamentary elections. It followed years of campaigning led by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union of New Zealand and prominent suffragist Kate Sheppard, whose organizing helped build nationwide support.
Women could vote in the 1893 election, but they could not stand for Parliament until 1919. Māori women were included in the 1893 voting reform, building on the fact that Māori men had received parliamentary voting rights in 1867.
New Zealand’s achievement is often described as the first national women’s suffrage victory. Some territories and local jurisdictions had acted earlier, so the precise wording “first self-governing country” matters when comparing international milestones.