Anni Huotari 1874-1943

Anni Huotari was a Finnish politician. She was a Member of the Parliament of Finland from 1907 to 1910, from 1911 to 1918, from 1922 to 1927 and again from 1932 until her death in 1943. Anni Huotari was imprisoned from 1918 to 1919 for having sided with the Reds during the Finnish Civil War.
Huotari was one of the most visible female figures in the Finnish labour movement in the early 20th century, along withMiina Sillanpää and Ida Aalle-Teljo, although she has been seen as having been overshadowed by them. She was particularly active in campaigning for the equalisation of laws on the status of women and for improvements in child and elderly care. Huotari also fought for universal and equal suffrage. She was president of the League of Working Women when women gained the right to vote, after which Huotari was tasked with getting new voters to participate in elections. Huotari encouraged women to go to the ballot box by reminding them that the new civil rights belonged to them too.