Born: 1878 (Chincha Alta, Peru)
Died: 1971
María Jesús Alvarado Rivera (27 May 1878 – 6 May 1971) was a Peruvian rebel feminist, educator, journalist, writer, and social activist. She was noted by the National Council of Women of Peru in 1969 as the first modern champion of women’s rights in Peru.
Early Life:
Alvarado Rivera was born in Chincha Alta on 27 May 1878. Her parents, Cayetano Alvarado Arciniega and Jesus Rivera Martinez, were both natives of Chincha Province and her father was the owner and administrator of the estate Chacrabajo. She was the tenth of thirteen children. However, due to the War of the Pacific, her family was forced to sell their property and settle in Lima. Despite the limited opportunities available for formal education, Alvarado Rivera learned to read and write well during her primary schooling. She continued her education through self-study and eventually attended a private high school run by Elvira García y García, a prominent leader of the feminist movement in Peru. After completing her education, she became a teacher and was troubled by the antiquated educational system. She took it upon herself to study sociology and became instrumental in introducing advanced methods of vocational education, euthanasia, the health and matrimonial care of school children, and the control of sexually transmitted diseases. Alvarado Rivera firmly believed in the importance of women’s role as mothers.
Career:
With the assistance of her brother, Lorenzo Antonino, who was a professor of Geology at the National University of San Marcos, Alvarado Rivera secured a job as a columnist for the newspaper El Comercio. She also worked for El Diario (1908) and, later on, for La Prensa. In 1910, she made her first presentation on feminist issues at the International Women’s Congress. The following year, she delivered a lecture on feminism at the Geographical Society of Lima, where she emphasized the need to provide equal civil and political rights to women as part of a global social change. It was during this conference that Alvarado Rivera sparked public interest in the idea of women’s suffrage, although the responses were mixed. Some women, such as the Daughters of Palma, Angelica, and Augusta, celebrated her as the liberator from oppressive subordination, while others viewed her ideas as too radical and feared the potential deterioration of family values.
Alvarado Rivera played a crucial role in establishing the Evolución Femenina (Women’s Evolution) in Lima in 1914. She proposed enacting civil codes and promoting women’s inclusion in government jobs. Her relentless campaign for nine years led to the Chamber of Representatives allowing women to become members of public welfare societies in 1915. Eventually, this legislation became law in 1922.