Serafina Dávalos Alfonze (9 September 1883 – 27 September 1957) was the first female

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and the country's first prominent feminist.

Early life

She was born in the Paraguayan city of Ajos (now

Coronel Oviedo Coronel Oviedo (), locally simply known as Oviedo, is a city in east-central Paraguay. It is the capital of the Caaguazú Department, about 150 kilometers east of Asunción, and was founded in 1758. The city has a population of about 52,400 ( ...

). Her parents were Gaspar Dávalos and Teresa Alfonze.

Career

She graduated from law school at the

Universidad Nacional de Asunción The Universidad Nacional de Asunción or Mbo'ehaovusu Tetãgua Paraguaygua, abbreviated UNA, anglicized as, The National University of Asuncion, is a public university founded in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Founded in 1889, it is the oldest and most ...

(becoming its first female graduate) in 1907 with a thesis, "

Humanism Humanism is a philosophy, philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential, and Agency (philosophy), agency of human beings, whom it considers the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The me ...

and

Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

", that questioned the submission of women, argued for the

education of women Female education is a catch-all term for 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 girl ...

and the improvement of women's status in marriage, and was controversial. She also founded with Virginia Corvalán and others the Feminist Movement for Asunción (in 1919), the Paraguayan Feminist Center (1921), the Feminine Union of Paraguay, and the Paraguayan League for the Rights of Women. In 1904 she and twenty other women founded the Committee of Women for Peace. She earned her teaching diploma from the Normal School for Female Teachers in 1898, earned her bachelor's degree from the Colegio National in 1902, and worked as a professor at the National College of the Capital starting in 1904; she founded (possibly with others) the Mercantile School for Girls (a business school) in 1905. In the first International Feminist Congress in 1910 in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, Dávalos was the official delegate of Paraguay, and was appointed as a member of the executive committee of the Pan-American Women's Federation. She was later selected as Honorary President of the National Council of Women of Paraguay. In 1936 she was the Consul to the Paraguay Feminine Union (UFP). In 1952, she participated in the Paraguayan League for the Rights of Women.

Personal life

She never married and lived with " r constant companion, Honoria Ballirán", as mentioned in 1959 by Dr. Ignacio Amado Berino, Secretary General of the National University of Asunción, in his lecture on "Serafina Dávalos, the precursor of feminism in Paraguay," published in the newspaper "El Feminista" and reproduced as an annex to the thesis of "Serafina Dávalos: Humanismo,” conducted by the Centre for Documentation and Studies and RP Ediciones.

Legacy

In 1998, long after her death, she became the first woman to appear on a Paraguayan postage stamp when the General Post Office of Paraguay issued stamps that read "The First Female Lawyer and Feminist of Paraguay (1883–1957)." There is also a street named in her honor in the administrative center of

, the city where she was born.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davalos, Serafina 1883 births 1957 deaths Paraguayan feminists 20th-century Paraguayan lawyers 20th-century Paraguayan LGBTQ people Lesbian feminists Paraguayan women lawyers Paraguayan lesbians People from Coronel Oviedo Universidad Nacional de Asunción alumni Suffragists Paraguayan LGBTQ lawyers Women's suffrage in Paraguay 20th-century women lawyers

Early life

Career

Personal life

Legacy

See also

References