Serafina Dávalos

Serafina Dávalos Alfonze (born September 9, 1883 in Ajos (today Coronel Oviedo ), Paraguay , † September 27, 1957 in Asunción ) was the first lawyer in Paraguay and the country's first known suffragette .

biography

Serafina Dávalos was born as the daughter of Gaspar Dávalos and his wife Teresa Alfonze. The family moved to Asunción when she was a child. In 1898 she completed a teacher training course at the Escuela Normal de Maestras , which she initiated herself with like-minded people. Four years later, she began studying law at the Universidad Nacional de Asunción . From 1904 she taught at the Colegio Nacional de la Capital , and in 1905 she helped found a commercial school for girls. In 1907 she was the first woman to acquire a degree at this university, with a dissertation on the topic of humanismo , in which she thematized and questioned the oppression of women in a patriarchal society. Among other things, she called for better education for women and more rights for women in marriage. This work led to great controversy in the intellectual circles of Paraguay. From 1908 to 1909 she worked at the Supreme Court, according to her, it was not until 1980 that the next woman held an office there.

In 1910 Serafina Dávalos took part as an official delegate from Paraguay at the First International Women's Congress of the Asociación de Universitarias Argentinas in Buenos Aires , where she chaired the legal commission and gave the closing speech. In 1919, together with Virginia Corvalán and a group of other women, she founded the Movimiento Feminista de Asunción , a bill on the civil and political rights of women in Paraguay was submitted to the national parliament. In the following years Dávalos held numerous other offices and launched other initiatives, such as from 1952 when she fought for equality with the Liga Paraguaya Pro Derechos de la Mujer , of which she became honorary president in 1956. She herself died four years before Paraguay became the last country in America to introduce women to the polls in 1961.

It is not known where Serafina Dávalos is buried; it is believed that her grave is on the Cementerio de la Recoleta in Asunción. In search of this grave, the historian Fabián Chamorro came across newspaper reports in the daily El Pais de Asunción from 1959 in 2017. It reports on a court case against the long-time partner of Serafina Dávalos, Honoria Ballirán, and that of Nicasio Dávalos, a Nephew of Serafina Dávalos, who had been reported; this had an "unhealthy influence" on his aunt and speculated on her fortune. She is said to have mistreated, neglected and eventually starved Dávalos. The outcome of the court proceedings at that time could not yet be researched. LGBT officials said the nephew's complaint may have been an expression of the macho view that lesbian women dishonor the family name, as well as prejudice and misogyny.

Honors

In 1998 Serafina Dávalos was featured on a Paraguayan postage stamp. In her hometown Coronel Oviedo a street is named after her, other institutions in Paraguay bear her name. On the occasion of International Women's Day , people and organizations in Asunción are awarded the Premio Serafina Dávalos who are committed to civic engagement and equality.

In 2019 it became known that the former home of Dávalos in Asunción , built in 1914 and uninhabited for 30 years, is falling into disrepair. In order to save the house in the long term, it was declared a historical and cultural heritage by the president of the local council in April 2019.

literature

• David Velázquez Seiferheld: Un recorrido por las ideas de Serafina (1900-1910) . 2017.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d} Teresa Burgui Jurio: Serafina Dávalos. In: 1325mujerestejiendolapaz.org. Retrieved March 30, 2018 . 
2. ^ Ministerio de Educación y Cultura - Paraguay »Biographies» Serafina Dávalos. In: mec.gov.py. Retrieved March 30, 2018 (Spanish). 
3. ↑ Heroínas: Serafina Dávalos Alfonze primera feminista del Paraguay. In: heroinas.net. Retrieved March 30, 2018 . 
4. ^ Andrés Colmán Gutiérrez: El trágico fin de la gran luchadora feminista. In: ultimahora.com. Retrieved March 31, 2018 (Spanish). 
5. ↑ Muerte de Serafina Dávalos, lot 108 (y un quemado) y la ira de LGTBI contra periodista. In: hoy.com.py. August 15, 2017, accessed March 31, 2018 (Spanish). 
6. ↑ Premio Serafina Dávalos reconoció a mujeres que luchan por la equidad de género. In: ip.gov.py. March 8, 2017, accessed March 30, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Casona de un ícono feminista se cae a pedazos y reclama su restauración. In: ultimahora.com. Retrieved April 12, 2019 (Spanish). 
8. ↑ SNC y Municipalidad de Asunción fiscalizan edificios históricos de la capital -.: Agencia IP :. In: ip.gov.py. April 11, 2019, accessed April 12, 2019 . 
9. ↑ Casa de Serafina Dávalos fue declarada como patrimonio cultural. In: nanduti.com. April 11, 2019, accessed April 12, 2019 .