Esther_Cabana

Peruvian educator who founded Latin America's first indigenous women's school

Esther Cabana (1865-1930) was a Quechua educator from Cusco, Peru who broke barriers by establishing the continent's first school for indigenous women in 1888. Defying Spanish colonial laws prohibiting education for native populations, she secretly taught literacy to 50+ students in her home before gaining government approval in 1892. Her Escuela de la Madre Tierra became a model for bilingual education, combining Quechua language instruction with Spanish and mathematics. Cabana's most significant achievement was the 1895 publication of Runasimi Yuyaykuna (Voices of the Earth), the first Quechua-language textbook.

Her advocacy led to Peru's 1901 Ley de Educación Indígena, which mandated bilingual education in Andean regions. Cabana's methods influenced later activists like María Rostworowski, and her legacy is preserved in Cusco's Museo de Educación Indígena. Modern scholars highlight her innovative use of storytelling to teach literacy, documented in the UNESCO archives. Her work remains a cornerstone of contemporary indigenous education movements across the Andes.