Carey Mulligan and Meryl Steep on What It Means to be a Suffragette: 'They Are Women Joined Together on Behalf of Each Other'

"A suffragette is someone who fights against inequality," director Sarah Gavron says in this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the film

Photo: Focus Features

Anybody can be a suffragette.

The film Suffragette explores the harrowing story of the pioneering foot soldiers in England’s feminist movement in the early 20th century, and what turns ordinary, everyday women into some of the nation’s most important activists.

But while the film focuses on one point in history, anyone who “fights against inequality” can be a suffragette, explains the director, Sarah Gavron in an exclusive behind-the-scene look at the film.

Starring Carey Mulligan and Meryl Streep, the historical drama follows Maud (Mulligan), a working mother, who joins a feminist movement led by Emmeline Pankhust (Streep) to lobby against social injustice. Putting their own lives at risk and stopping at nothing, they come together to fight against the government and advocate for women’s right to suffrage.

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“Suffragettes have that inability to remove your own needs and dedicate your life to the needs of generations coming ahead of you,” says Mulligan.

“They are women joined together on behalf of each other,” adds Streep.

Suffragette is in theaters now.