1) Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz (c. 1651-1695)
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a 17th century nun and scholar, celebrated for her writing and fierce advocation of women’s rights. She is famous for defending the right for women to have a solid education, famously stating, ‘One can perfectly well philosophise while cooking supper.’ Her inspiring dedication to her studies encouraged women to be more proactive in fighting for their right to have a substantial education.
2) Frida Kahlo (1907-1954)
Although Kahlo didn’t consider herself as a typical feminist, her political activity and dedication earned her the status of the feminist icon that she holds today. Through her rejection of fixed gender norms, Kahlo deconstructed the patriarchal ideologies that dominated society and inspired female autonomy.
3) Dolores Huerta (1930-)
Dolores Huerta dedicated her later life to campaigning for the improvement of the quality of life of migrant workers. She focused on women’s rights, fighting to minimize discrimination. She helped co-found the United Farm Workers (UFW), and despite stepping down from her official role in 1999, Huerta continues being politically active to support the wider community of farm workers and women.
4) Ellen Ochoa (1958-)
Ochoa made history in 1991 when she became the world’s first Hispanic female astronaut. Since then, she has become the Director of the Johnson Space Centre and has received many awards for her work with NASA. Her work has inspired women all over the world to pursue their ambitions despite social and cultural barriers.
5) Eva Perón (1919-1952)
Despite being an often contraversial figure in Argentine politics, Eva Perón broke both gender and class barriers to access a level of power unthinkable for both a women or for anyone of her spcial standing. Some of her fercest critics were women of the elite that she found herself in, yet she took advantage of her role as the first lady of Argentina to advocate women’s rights and suffrage. Despite her unofficial roles within her husband’s government and successful political activism, she turned down the opportunity to run as vice-president due to poor health, but continued to be a prominent political power and a national icon.
6) Felisa Rincón de Gautier (1947-1969)
A social activist and campaigner for women’s suffrage, Rincón de Gautier became the first woman to be elected as the Mayor of a capital city in The Americas, San Juan. From her significant contributions to the suffragist movement to her role as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in New York City at the age of 95, Rincón de Gautier was a hugely influential figure in political and social change across nations.
7) Comandanta Ramona (1959-2006)
Born into poverty and peasantry, Ramona’s transformation into a feminist revolutionary has branded her a national role model in Mexico. As one of the seven female comandantes in the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Ramona dedicated her life to promoting social equality among the lower classes, a dedication evident through her famous words, ‘I believe that it is better to die fighting than to die of hunger.’ Ramona took control of the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas, the former capital of Chiapas, during the January 1, 1994 Zapatista uprising. Ramona began a long fight with cancer the same year; in 1995, she received a kidney transplant, which extended her life for over a decade. In 1996, she broke through a government encirclement when she traveled to Mexico City to help found the National Indigenous Congress. After her death, Subcomandante Marcos suspended The Other Campaign activities for several days in order to be present at Ramona's funeral service.
8) Rosarios Castellanos (1925-1974)
Castellanos is celebrated for her creative exploration of the existentialism of the Mexican woman. Her pivotal work, Sobre cultura femenina (“On Feminine Culture”) inspired a new wave of self-awareness in the Mexican woman, inspiring the assertion of one’s autonomy. Despite her profound Catholicism, Castellanos challenged traditional social structures through her poetry and prose.
9) Carmen Martín Gaite (1925-2000)
Martín Gaite rejected the traditional feminist image, even branding herself as an ‘antifeminist’. Despite this, her ideologies were aligned to a newly emerging form of feminism, where she contemplated the idea of a woman as both maternal and professional. Her literary contributions to this wave of feminism are fundamental in engaging the ‘antifeminist’, demonstrating the fundamental flexibility of feminism.
10) Isabel Allende (1942-)
A widely celebrated author, Allende frequently employs magical realism, which functions as a thin mask of the very real social injustices dominating many cultures. Allende’s contribution to women’s rights does not stop at her influential literature, but far beyond, as her foundation (The Isabel Allende Foundation) continues fighting to empower women and to promote social and economic justice.
