Research celebrates first woman to take the floor of the Swedish Parliament
Agda Östlund, the first female speaker of the Swedish Parliament. Image: Labour Movement Archives and Library
On March 11, 1922, Agda Östlund became the first woman ever to take the floor of the Swedish Parliament. In his thesis, Magnus Gustafson has analysed her rhetoric at five important events to show how her voice became significant in the fight for women's rights and social justice.
“If you really want something, you get courage,” said Agda Östlund to a childhood friend after speaking at the People's House in Stockholm.
What we can learn is that we need to organise ourselves in order for something to happen.
Magnus Gustafson
“This reflects quite well the driving forces she had as a politician,” says Gustafson.
By analysing rhetorical situations in her career, he examines in his thesis what strategies she used and what roles she took. These include the work she did during the suffrage struggle, in the 1921 election campaign, in her first speech in the Swedish Parliament, in the debate on alcohol prohibition and in the debate on abortion in 1938.
In his work, Gustafson has identified factors that made Agda Östlund's rhetoric successful: she adapted her speech to the situation and used historical and literary references; she could change her perspective to criticize norms and assumptions; she took on different roles to deal with conflicts around class and gender.
Östlund grew up in a working-class home in Köping in the 1870s. She became active in the temperance movement and eventually an important part of the movement for women's suffrage. From 1922 to 1938, she sat in the Parliament for the Social Democrats and was involved in issues of social justice, maternity care, housing policy and abortion legislation.
Gustafson himself grew up in Köping, but it was several decades before he heard of Agda Östlund. It was only during a visit to the Labour Movement Archives and Library in Stockholm that he discovered her story.
“During the time I've been working on my thesis, she has become more recognised. In connection with the centenary of women being allowed to stand as candidates for the Riksdag, she was highlighted alongside other contemporary female politicians.”
Gustafson strives to better understand the time in which she lived. He also emphasises the importance of highlighting the role of working-class women, as they have often been overshadowed in the history of the labour movement.
“Telling her story is also telling the story of the emergence of popular movements. What we can learn is that we need to organise ourselves in order for something to happen. The strong flame that she had, and which burned for a long time, I believe can inspire today's generations on the international stage.”
Text by: Wilma Haneke Brodd