Maria Teresa de la Vega

A pioneering South American feminist and writer who challenged colonial gender norms during the early 19th century independence movements

Maria Teresa de la Vega (1784-1854) was a Bolivian writer and activist whose 1810 pamphlet Defense of the Female Sex became an early feminist manifesto in Latin America. During the War of Independence from Spanish rule, she organized women's auxiliaries providing medical care and supplies while writing extensively about women's rights. Her essays argued that true national independence required gender equality, making her one of the first Latin American feminists to connect political liberation with women's emancipation. Later organizing schools for girls in Cochabamba, she blended education advocacy with critiques of colonial gender roles. Her work remains underappreciated though highly influential in modern feminist historiography. Read more on Wikipedia or Bolivian Express.