The Mancos Public Library honors Women’s History Month with a free screening of “Suffragette,” the first feature film to tell the story of the ordinary British women at the turn of the last century who risked everything in the fight for equality and the right to vote.

It shows at 6 p.m. Monday.

“Suffragette” is a moving drama that will empower all who are striving for equal rights in our own day and age. The stirring story, inspired by the early 20th century campaign by the suffragettes for the right of women to vote, centers on Maud (played by Carey Mulligan), a working wife and mother who comes to realize that she must fight for her dignity both at home and in her workplace. Realizing that she is not alone, she becomes an activist alongside other brave women from all walks of life.

The early efforts at resistance were passive but as the women faced increasingly aggressive police action, the suffragettes become galvanized – risking their very lives to ensure that women’s rights would be recognized and respected.

In addition to Mulligan, the cast includes Helena Bonham Carter, Ben Whishaw, Anne-Marie Duff, Brendan Gleeson, and Meryl Streep. Peter Schlessel, CEO of Focus Features, said, “Suffragette” is a story that will resonate with men and women across the generations; it is about parents and children, courage and dedication, and making hard choices.”

Mulligan, like Streep, can make even pedestrian material sing with the honesty, sophistication and nuance she brings to every role, on screen or stage. In “Suffragette,” she brings to vibrant life an important part of our global history that’s easy to forget — the struggle for a woman’s right to vote.

Though the movie, directed by Sarah Gavron, includes real-life characters like Emmeline Pankhurst (Streep) and Emily Wilding Davison (Natalie Press), its main character is Maud Watts (Mulligan), a 24-year-old mother who spends her days working in a laundry where her own mother labored.

Maud’s journey begins when she is drafted to testify before a government committee on the woman’s vote, and is abandoned by her husband, who has banned her from their young son. She finds quarters with other suffragettes and wages her war.

The film is produced by Faye Ward and Alison Owen. For more information about this screening, call 970-533-7600 or visit www.mancoslibrary.org