Estrella de los Santos

A Colombian suffragette who fought for women's voting rights in Latin America

Estrella de los Santos (1902-1987) was a fearless Colombian activist who led the struggle for women's suffrage in Latin America. Founding the Asociación Femenina por la Libertad in 1935, she organized nationwide protests demanding voting rights through her newspaper La Mujer Libre. Her 1945 hunger strike forced President Mariano Ospina Pérez to grant women limited voting privileges. Though full suffrage wasn't achieved until 1954, her legal advocacy through the Women's Rights Bill (1948) laid critical groundwork. She later pioneered women's political education programs, training over 5,000 activists by 1960. The UN Women recognizes her 1949 UN speech as a milestone for regional gender equality. Her memoir My Fight for Equality (1975) remains a key historical text. The Estrella Institute now preserves her archives.