Exhibition Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote

Underwood and Underwood. Portrait of Sofia de Veyra (1876–1953), Washington, D.C., January 28, 1921. NWP Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Delegation of Philippine women, including Sofia de Veyra, meeting with First Lady Florence Harding (*both in front center of the group*) at the White House, ca. 1922. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Sofia Reyes de Veyra

In 1917, Sofia Reyes de Veyra arrived in Washington, D.C., with her husband who was Resident Commissioner of the Philippines, a U.S. territory from 1898 to 1946. While advocating for Philippine independence and living in D.C., Sofia de Veyra and other Filipinas joined local women’s organizations that supported the American suffrage movement. Upon returning to the Philippines, these pioneering women formed women’s clubs and eventually won the right to vote on April 30, 1937.