Lucila Rubio de Laverde (1908-1970) was a Colombian socialist and one of the leading suffragettes in her country. She was also a teacher and the first woman to present a demand for the vote to the President of Colombia.

Biography

Rubio was born in

Facatativá Facatativá is a city and municipality in the Cundinamarca Department, located about 18 miles (31 km) northwest of Bogotá, Colombia and 2,586 meters above sea level. The city is known for its Archaeological Park Piedras del Tunjo (Rocks ...

, Colombia. She began her activism as early as the 1930s, when she fought for the economic rights of women. She pushed for legislation granting pre-nuptial agreements, was a proponent of co-habitation and she spoke against the Church's treatment of women. By the 1940s, Rubio had become one of the leaders of Colombia's women's rights movement and a most important suffragette. She was one of the founders of The Unión Femenina de Colombia (Women's Union of Colombia) (UFC), created in Bogota in 1944. The UFC was one of the most important women's organizations during this time. It spread to other cities and promoted voting rights, literacy of women, and rights of citizens. Rubio de Laverde served as president of the organization and was also president of the Alianza Femenina de Colombia (Women's Alliance of Colombia), founded the same year. In 1944, the UFC collected more than 500 signatures pressing for the vote and Rubio de Laverde presented them to President

Alfonso López Pumarejo Alfonso López Pumarejo (31 January 1886 – 20 November 1959) was a Colombian political figure, who twice served as President of Colombia, as a member of the Colombian Liberal Party. He served as President of Colombia for the first time between ...

, demanding women's right to vote. She wrote for ''Agitación Femenina'' from 1944-1946. Rubio de Laverde wrote about social problems in Colombia from a feminist perspective, collaborating in newspapers and magazines such as ''Pax et Libertas'', ''Verdad'' and ''Dominical''. She founded the College Froevel, which operated for eight years, and gave lectures at the School of Social Service, the Women's Institute of the Free University and the Colegio Mayor de Cundinamarca. In Colombia, she attended both the 1945 suffrage conference and the 1946 conference where she warned that women should not limit themselves to their homes but should be fully participating citizens. She also attended the

Primer Congreso Interamericano de Mujeres The Primer Congreso Interamericano de Mujeres (First Inter-American Congress of Women) was a feminist meeting held from 21 to 27 August 1947 in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It was called together by the Women's International League for Peace and Freed ...

held in

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, ne ...

, Guatemala in 1947 and presided over the final session where the resolutions were drafted. She attended the Second Congress of Women of the Americas, and attended 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 ...

's 1960 meeting in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. In 1962, she attended the 15th Congress of the League of Peace and Freedom held in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and participated in the debates on nuclear testing. In 1963, Rubio attended the pilgrimage Women for Peace in Rome and Geneva. Rubio married Eduardo Laverde, a "man of letters".

References

Bibliography

External links

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Lucila Rubio de Laverde, feminista
Disfruta lo mejor de Colombia {{DEFAULTSORT:Rubio de Laverde, Lucila 1908 births 1970 deaths Colombian women's rights activists Colombian suffragists Colombian feminists Colombian educators