LONDON: A century after women won the right to vote in Britain, the ideals of equality are resonating again in the global wave of sexual harassment allegations seen in recent months, a leading academic said.

“In both cases, it’s a discussion of equality,” Myriam Boussahba-Bravard, a professor of women’s history and gender studies at Paris Diderot University, said ahead of the Feb.6 anniversary.

“The right to vote gave formal equality... But the question now is real equality,” Boussahba-Bravard said, adding: “The Suffragettes... knew this.”

“They too were confronted with sexual harassment, particularly at their demonstrations. Except that at the time that was not their priority because formal equality was not there yet,” the academic said.

Scores of women came forward in October last year to accuse US movie mogul Harvey Weinstein of harassment and abuse, sparking a chain reaction of denunciations in the world of entertainment and far beyond.

“Women have always had a voice... but perhaps it is being heard for the first time... by other women but also by many men,” Boussahba-Bravard, editor of “Suffrage Outside Suffragism: Women’s Vote in Britain, 1880-1914,” said.

The academic said there was “common ground” between Suffragism and groups such as the recent #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.

“It’s a question of network, which is now done via internet. At the time, it was associations communicating with each other and building numbers.

“Membership was possible for all women and from all social classes,” which helped in building momentum, she said.