Asking for a little respectâor just the right to caste a ballot-- can get you beaten and tossed into a jail if youâre not careful. Just ask the women suffragist movement of the early 20th century. They were hung and beaten in jail cells, forced to eat rancid food and choked by guards. What was the crime that called for such extreme measures? These women had the temerity to picket the White House in their effort to win the Vote.