Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Historically, women rarely had the right to vote, even in ostensibly democratic systems of government. The 19th century saw many movements advocating "universal [male] suffrage", most notably in Europe and North America; following this, movements for women's suffrage became prominent, and by the mid and late 19th century, women's suffrage was accomplished in Australasia, then Europe, and then the Americas.