New Zealand became the first self-governing nation where women could vote in parliamentary elections, in 1893.
The Electoral Act 1893 received royal assent on 19 September 1893. It enfranchised adult women, including Māori women, in national parliamentary elections. New Zealand women then voted in the general election held on 28 November 1893, although women could not yet stand for Parliament.
The achievement followed years of campaigning led by the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and suffrage organiser Kate Sheppard. Supporters collected large petitions, linking voting rights with social reform and opposition to alcohol-related harm. The campaign helped overcome resistance from politicians and liquor interests.
New Zealand’s milestone is sometimes described imprecisely as the first place where women gained any voting rights. Several jurisdictions had earlier granted women limited or local voting rights. The important distinction is that New Zealand was the first self-governing country to give women the right to vote in national parliamentary elections.