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In 1959 Switzerland held a referendum on whether women should be allowed to vote in general elections. Only men could take part in the referendum and two-thirds of them voted no. Swiss women eventually won the right to vote in 1971. Ruth Dreifuss campaigned for women's rights as a 19-year old during the 1959 referendum, and was instrumental in getting women elected to parliament in 1971. She later became the first female president of Switzerland