María Jesús Alvarado Rivera
Born in 1878 in Chincha, Peru, María Jesús Alvarado Rivera and her family were forced to move to Lima as a consequence of the Saltpeter war. In Lima she was able to finish elementary school but as per the norm of that time period, she wasn't expected to further her education. She was only accepted into a private school due to her advanced reading and writing skills. This private school, run by Elvira García y García, kick-started her fight for women's civil, political, and social rights (1). Elvira García y García was a leader of Peru's feminist movement to further women's education, therefore Alvarado Rivera was taught how important education is for everyone among other feminist teachings (1).
After finishing high school Alvarado Rivera became a teacher where she observed the outdated education system and its inequalities. In order to begin her lifetime journey of combating these discrepancies she
began to study sociology and educating in maternity, sexual transmitted infections, and vocation (4). In 1898, at only 20 years old she was able to secure a job as a columnist at El Comercia and later at other newspapers, El Diaria, and La Prensa (1). Now honing her attention to her writing, she was able to find her voice which she continued to use in the fight towards gender equality in Peru.
Alvarado Rivera continued her battle in 1910 when she lectured at conferences like the International Women's Congress and the Geographical Society of Lima (1). Her 'unconventional' ideas were met with a divide in women, some women agreed and were prepared to fight or aid Alvarado Rivera but, other women found her feminist arguments too radical. This began the divide among the women in Peru, some choosing feminism and others remaining more 'traditional'. Using her writing skills she also began to publish novels, essays, and plays such as, El feminismo, Nuevas cumbres,
La perricholoi, Ante los hijos, El matrimonio ultramoderno, and Amor y Gloria, among others (2). All of these literary works delivered her message of equality all around Peru and some surrounding countries. In 1914 she played a crucial role in the creation of
La Evolución Femenina, the only feminist organization found in Peru at the time, who demanded social, educational, professional, political, and civil equality among all genders (3). This led to a nine year battle for women in political professions and civil codes protecting women which, Alvarado Rivera wrote. She then established another feminist groups, The National Council for Women, in 1923
and a labor and moral workshop where she educated prostitutes among others on how to enter the work force (3). Not long after she caught the eye of the president,
Augusto B Leguía, and
The Catholic Women's League who were on the opposite side of the divide. They ultimately led to her being arrested at the Pan-American Women's Conference where she was jailed for several months and then exiled to Argentina for 12 years (3). Upon her return to Peru she began to write plays and novels depicting a feminist regime and in 1938 she proposed The Code of Rights for women and later became councilor of the municipality of Lima (1).
I believe Alvarado Rivera deserves the title of Woman Warrior because she devoted her life to fighting gender inequality and began a revolution which encouraged many of other women in Peru to battle alongside of her and continue the battle in her absence. Though she was mistreated, ignored, jailed, and exiled she continued to fight for what she thought was right. I believe she was a courageous woman for taking the initial steps towards equality and clearing paths in order to allow other women to join and eventually lead in the war for gender equality. Her sacrifices gave the oppressed women of Peru a chance to change society and in 1955 women were finally given the right to vote. Alvarado Rivera was able to witness this historic moment before she passed in 1971 at the age of 92 (1). Alvarado Rivera's determination has inspired many young women throughout the world and changed women's perspectives and how they are perceived by other genders.
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Interesting stuff! It sounds as though Rivera was truly one of the original women's rights advocates in Peru. That would be a difficult and lonely path. I'm glad she lived long enough to see women's suffrage granted. I think it's also incredible how she was instructing prostitutes on how to enter the workforce in the 1920s. That's extremely progressive for that time - it was probably more normal to ignore or shame female sex workers, at least in most parts of the world. Thanks for sharing this info with us!
ReplyDeleteStories like these make me wonder if Rivera never chose to become teacher and witness such hard inequality in the education system in her country, would she have still chosen the path she took to advocate for women' rights. It is very interesting to learn that her views on women equality were viewed as "radical," and that it provided a divide between women in Peru. It seems to me that Rivera was almost ahead of her time and realized that women's rights should be something that was practiced before it became the social norm.
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