Matilde Brandau Galindo (c. 1870 – 1948) was a Chilean lawyer and educator. She was the second woman to obtain the title of attorney in her country, after

Matilde Throup Matilde Throup Sepúlveda (18 August 1876 – 1922) was the first Chilean woman to receive the title of attorney, and the third to obtain a professional title after the institution of the of 1877 which allowed women to be admitted to universities. ...

Biography

She was born in

Los Ángeles, Chile Los Ángeles () is the capital of the province of Bío Bío, in the commune of the same name, in Bío Bío, in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 186,671 inhabitants (census 2012) ...

, the daughter of Valentín Brandau Lapp and Emilia Galindo. Her only sibling was Valentín Brandau (1866–1960), also a lawyer. With the enactment of the in 1877, women had the power to pursue university careers in Chile. Thanks to this, Brandau enrolled in the Faculty of Law (now the ) at the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

in 1893. She followed in the footsteps of Matilde Throup, who had become the first female attorney in Chile (and the third woman to obtain a university degree under the Decreto Amunátegui) one year earlier. In 1898 Brandau presented her thesis ''Civil Rights of Women'' ( es, Derechos civiles de la mujer) to quality for a

Licentiate of Laws Bachelor of Civil Law (abbreviated BCL, or B.C.L.; la, Baccalaureus Civilis Legis) is the name of various degrees in law conferred by English-language universities. The BCL originated as a postgraduate degree in the universities of Oxford and Camb ...

. In this study, Brandau conducted an analysis of the legal status of women in different countries and eras, including Chile, and criticized the conditions of women under marriage contracts, as they were subject to marital power and left legally incapacitated. Several of her principles were progressively adopted in legislation as part of the

Chilean Constitution of 1925 The Constitution of 1925 was the constitution in force in Chile between 1925 and 1973 when the Government Junta suspended it. In the 1920s Chile had a severe social and economic crisis that led to the loss of prestige for old ruling class, labeled ...

, which modified the

Chilean Civil Code The Civil Code of the Republic of Chile (''Código Civil de la República de Chile'', also referred to as the ''Code of Bello'') is the work of jurist and legislator Andrés Bello. After several years of individual work (though officially present ...

and Law Decree No. 328. Brandau never practiced law, and excelled in intellectual and educational pursuits. She was a member of the Athenaeum and an advocate for

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

and the civil rights of women. She was also a promoter of

women's education Female education is a catch-all term of a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

, serving as an educator and director of several secondary schools for girls, such as those of Linares (1905–1907), Constitución (1908–1913), and

Iquique Iquique () is a port city and commune in northern Chile, capital of both the Iquique Province and Tarapacá Region. It lies on the Pacific coast, west of the Pampa del Tamarugal, which is part of the Atacama Desert. It has a population of 191,468 ...

(1915). On two occasions she was sent by the government of Chile to Europe, in 1907 and 1927, to learn about women's education in Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy. During the first trip, her husband José Luis Ross Mujica (whom she had married in 1907, and who was serving as Chile's consul in Spain) died of appendicitis. On her return to Chile, Brandau took over as director of the Lyceum No. 2 of

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

. She managed the acquisition of the land for the institution's building, and its first stone was laid in 1937. The school is now named after her. She was also deeply involved in cultural activities, founding a literary center and developing the French Library, the People's University of Iquique, the Protective Society of Poor Students, the School Settlements, and the Iquique Children's Trust.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandau, Matilde 1870s births 1948 deaths Chilean educators Chilean women educators Chilean people of French descent People from Los Ángeles, Chile University of Chile alumni Chilean legal scholars