Anna Haslam was a major figure in th women's movement in Ireland through the 19th and early 20th-century. Anna came from a Quaker family in Co. Cork and was educated in Quaker Schools in Waterford and Yorkshire. In 1854 she married Thomas Haslam, also a Quaker and they moved to Dublin in 1858. Both were committed supporters of women's rights and worked tirelessly in that cause all their lives.

One of Anna's longest campaigns was for repeal of the Contagious Diseases Act of 1864. The act allowed for state regulation of prostitutes in areas in which the army or navy was stationed. The act permitted compulsory internment of women for up to 3 months and enforced medical treatment if they were suspected of being a prostitute. The internment period was later extended for up to a year. Anna opposed the act as she felt it legitimised prostition, commoditised women and undermined family life. The act sought only to reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases amongst the military. It was finally repealed following 18 years of campaigning.

Anna is best remembered today for her work for votes for women for which she founded the Dublin Women's Suffrage Association in 1876. The parliamentary franchise was important in empowering women to reform society through influencing legislation. She was involved in the 1866 petition to extend suffrage to women as well as men and 1,499 signatures wer gathered. Male suffrage was extended in 1867. In 1911, the Suffrage movement achieved a significant victory in securing the right of women to stand for election as local councillors. It was a further 7 years before the right to vote was extended to women over 30.

In 1918, at the age of 89, Anna was finally able to vote in a general election. She died in 1922, the year in which the Irish Free State extended the vote to all men and women over 21.