In 1885 Kate Sheppard joined WTCU, as one of the founders left becoming the leader of the organization that she led a petition to ban the exploitation of women as barmaids and fighting for liquor prohibition. As her sister, Isobel became more interested in the need for improving hygiene and suitable clothing for women. What the WTCU message is that Alcohol is bad for family life and especially for women and children. The women have enough of being told to 'go home, look after their children, cook for their husbands' and that they should stop meddling in men's concerns. Women thought that if they could make an alcohol ban there would be no more violence at home which some men supported. The movement for women’s rights which began in the late 19th century was concerned with two main issues: equal political rights for women and social reform particularly dealing with the abuse of alcohol and its consequences for women and children. The association felt that alcohol was the cause of many problems in society-prostitution, wife and child bashing and that would make men poor and women for show 'on the shelf', she said in quote "We are tired of having a “sphere” doled out to us, and of being told that anything outside that sphere is “unwomanly”.’ The union quickly realized that the welfare of women and children would be more effectively carried out if women possessed the right to vote and the right to representation in Parliament. In 1887 franchise departments were formed within the local unions and Kate was appointed as the national superintendent of the franchise and legislation department. Giving her time to church visiting, Bible classes, and fund-raising. She became secretary of the Ladies Association and was also involved with other members of her family in temperance work. She prepared and gave out pamphlets, wrote letters to the press and started debating within the WTCU. Kate Sheppard was motivated by humanitarian principles and a strong sense of justice: 'All that separates, whether of race, class, creed, or sex, is inhuman, and must be overcome'. Hers was a quietly determined, persuasive and disarmingly feminine voice. She believed that if women had the vote there would be a national majority in favor of prohibition. Sir John Hall presented the Parliament with a strongly supported petition by the suffrage. We see what Kate Sheppard has done for New Zealand, putting us as the first country to allow women to be equal and vote. Stopping violence at home has made a huge impact on all families. Sheppard's work had a considerable impact on women's suffrage movements in other countries.