Maria Lacerda de Moura

Brazil's first female physician and pioneer of women's education in Latin America

Maria Lacerda de Moura (1880-1964) shattered barriers as Brazil's first female medical doctor. Born in Bahia, she fought to enter the Bahia Medical School in 1901, graduating in 1906 despite gender-based exclusion policies. She established Brazil's first women's medical college in 1913, training over 300 female doctors by 1940. Her 1920s campaigns led to the creation of the Escola Normal Feminina - Brazil's first teacher training college for women. During the 1930s, she pioneered public health initiatives in rural Bahia, establishing mobile clinics that treated over 10,000 patients annually. Her advocacy secured women's voting rights in 1932 and inspired Latin America's first women's suffrage laws. Moura's writings, including her 1935 Educacao e Mulher no Brasil, remain key resources in gender history studies. The Federal University of Bahia now awards its highest academic honor in her name.