São Paulo, 1894 – Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 1976

By José Chrispiniano

A scientist and pioneer of feminism in Brazil, Bertha Lutz was the leading activist in the movement for women’s suffrage. The daughter of Swiss-Brazilian hygienist Adolfo Lutz and English nurse Amy Fowler, she earned a degree in Science from the University of Sorbonne, Paris, in 1918, and in Law in Brazil in 1933. In 1920, she founded an organization dedicated to defending women’s rights. In 1922, she represented Brazilian women at the General Assembly of the League of Women Voters in the United States and founded the Brazilian Federation for Women’s Progress, which she presided over for twenty years.

The Federation led the campaign for women’s suffrage, which was eventually included in the Civil Code of 1932 and the Constitution of 1934. Lutz held a seat in Congress in 1936 after being elected as a substitute. She lost her mandate in 1937 with the establishment of Getúlio Vargas’ Estado Novo. Until the end of her life, she alternated between feminist activism and conducting significant scientific work in botany and herpetology.

Content updated on 13/04/2017 at 11:38.