Leolinda de Figueiredo Daltro (14 July 1859 – 4 May 1935)[1] was a Brazilian feminist teacher, suffragist and indigenous' rights activist.[2] In 1910, she was one of the founders of the Feminine Republican Party (Partido Republicano Feminino), which advocated for the Brazilian women's right to vote.[3]

Leolinda Daltro
Born(1859-07-14)July 14, 1859
Bahia, Brazil
DiedMay 4, 1935(1935-05-04) (aged 75)
Resting placeCemitério São João Batista
Occupation(s)Teacher, suffragist, indigenous' rights activist

Biography

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Leolinda Daltro was born in the state of Bahia. She moved to Rio de Janeiro with her second husband and five children to teach. In 1896 she travelled throughout the countryside in a mission to give formal education to Brazilian indigenous peoples and help to assimilate them to the newly formed Republic. She established herself among the Xerente people of the current state of Tocantins. Differently to the religious missions, Leolinda believed in a secular education for the natives, and she advocated for demarcation of their lands and respecting their cultures.[4]

Daltro returned to Rio in 1897. She founded the Grêmio Patriótico Leolinda Daltro for defending the indigenous peoples' rights. She became a friend of Orsina da Fonseca [pt], wife of president Hermes da Fonseca. They founded the Escola Orsina da Fonseca, a vocational school where women learned arts, sciences and crafts. She also founded the Linha de Tiro Feminino (Feminine Shooting Line), as Daltro believed women should have counted as citizens and have the right to defend their country.[5]

The Brazilian Constitution of 1891 barred women from voting. Daltro founded the Partido Republicano Feminino (Feminine Republican Party) in 1910, alongside other women, among them the poet Gilka Machado, fighting for the women's right to vote. The party was inspired by the British suffragettes. In 1917 her party led a march for women's suffrage in Rio de Janeiro, of which 90 women participated.[6]

In 1919, Daltro presented her protest candidacy for intendente (mayor) of Rio, as a way to raise awareness of the suffragist movement.[7] After PRF, another women's rights' organizations were formed, such as Federação Brasileira pelo Progresso Feminino, founded in 1922 by Bertha Lutz. Women eventually gained the right to vote in 1932.[8]

Death

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Daltro died in 1935, hit by a car.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Karawejczyk, Mônica (January–June 2014). "Os primórdios do movimento sufragista no Brasil: o feminismo "pátrio" de Leolinda Figueiredo Daltro" [The early days of women’s suffrage movement in Brazil: Leolinda Figueiredo Daltro’s “patrio” feminism]. Estudos Ibero-Americanos, PUCRS. v. 40, n.1: 64–84. doi:10.15448/1980-864X.2014.1.15391.
  2. ^ "DALTRO, Leolinda de Figueiredo" (PDF). cpdoc.fgv.br.
  3. ^ "25 conquistas das mulheres no Brasil". História Digital (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2012-03-17. Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  4. ^ Santos, Paulete Maria Cunha dos (2016-01-14). "Leolinda Daltro – a Oaci-zauré – relato de sua experiência de proposta laica de educação para os povos indígenas no Brasil central". Revista Historia de la Educación Latinoamericana. 18 (26): 15–46. doi:10.19053/01227238.4364. ISSN 2256-5248.
  5. ^ "Há 106 anos, Brasil teve um partido feminista para lutar pelo voto da mulher – Notícias – Política". Política (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  6. ^ Schumaher, Schuma; Brazil, Erico Vital (2000). Dicion‡rio mulheres do Brasil: de 1500 até a atualidade : com 270 ilustrações (in Portuguese). J. Zahar. ISBN 9788571105737.
  7. ^ a b "A professora Leolinda Daltro | Bertha Lutz – Museu Virtual". lhs.unb.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-11-23.
  8. ^ Brasil, Portal. "Bertha Lutz". Governo do Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 2017-11-24.