LONDON, June 27 (Xinhua) -- A national exhibition exploring the journey towards votes for women in Britain opened Wednesday in the Houses of Parliament.

The exhibition, in Westminster Hall, shows how the road to an equal franchise was a long one, with the first petition advocating for votes for women presented in 1832, and equal suffrage finally being granted with the passing of the Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act in 1928.

This year marks the centenary of women first winning the vote in 1918, though for the first 10 years only women aged 30 and over were allowed the vote.