Francisca Beretervide (1886-1976) was an Uruguayan chemist, educator, author, lawyer, and feminist. She is noted for her role in advancing women's rights in

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. Beretervide's works alongside

Paulina Luisi Paulina Luisi (1875–1950) was a leader of the feminist movement in the country of Uruguay. In 1909, she became the first Uruguayan woman to earn a medical degree and was a firm advocate of sex education in the schools. She represented Uruguay in ...

and

Isabel Pinto de Vidal Isabel Pinto de Vidal (Montevideo, December 13, 1885 1969) was a Uruguayan feminist lawyer and politician, and a member of the Colorado Party. Pinto de Vidal was a founding member of the National Women's Council of Uruguay''(Consejo Nacional de ...

paved the way for

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

in her country.

Biography

Beretervide was born on 6 June 1886 at

Flores Department Flores () is a department of Uruguay, positioned in the southwest of the central part of the country. Its capital is Trinidad. It borders Durazno Department to the north and east, Florida Department to the southeast, San José Department to the so ...

, Uruguay to José Beretervide and Francisca Torterolo. After completing her secondary education, she was admitted to the University of the Republic where she graduated with a degree in

Pharmaceutical Chemistry Medicinal or pharmaceutical chemistry is a scientific discipline at the intersection of chemistry and pharmacy involved with designing and developing pharmaceutical drugs. Medicinal chemistry involves the identification, synthesis and developme ...

. She then continued her education and joined the university's School of Law, where she completed her Doctor of Law degree in 1917. Beretervide became the dean of the Women's University in Montevideo from 1917 to 1922. She replaced Clotilde Luisi, the first female dean of the university. She was also a founding member of the ''Consejo Nacional de Mujeres'', a branch of the

International Council of Women The International Council of Women (ICW) is a women's rights organization working across national boundaries for the common cause of advocating human rights for women. In March and April 1888, women leaders came together in Washington, D.C., wit ...

. She served as the organization's secretary general. Beretervide died 31 October 1976 in Montevideo. In 2001, the city of Montevideo named a public space after her. The triangular space, which is called Espacio Libre Doctora Francisca Beretervide, is a designated recreation area near Atahualpa and the Cantero Doctor Alvaro Carbone.

Works

As part of her feminist activities, she wrote several articles for ''Accion Femenina'', which promoted women's rights and networking opportunities for women and feminist organizations around the world. Her published works also included papers covering chemistry and social justice.

Publication

* Legal Nature of the Vessels (1915), ''Journal of Law and Social Sciences''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beretervide, Francisca 1886 births 1976 deaths People from Montevideo Writers from Montevideo 20th-century women lawyers Uruguayan feminists Uruguayan suffragists