Matilde hidalgo de procel biography for kids

Matilde Hidalgo was the first woman to exercise the right to vote in Ecuador and Latin America , and also the first to receive a Doctorate in Medicine. Hidalgo fought for the recognition of women's rights and is now known as one of the most important women in Ecuadorian history. At her young age, She mastered reading and writing skills as well as the piano.

In she was paralyzed by a stroke, and she died in Guayaquil on February 20, Matilde Hidalgo Navarro de Procel became the first woman to graduate from a high school in Ecuador , the first woman to vote in an election in Latin America and the first woman to hold elected office in her country. After her father died, her mother had to work as a seamstress to support them.

Matilde studied at the school the Immaculate Conception of the Sisters of Charity. Upon graduating from sixth grade, Matilde told her older brother Antonio that she wished to continue studying.

Matilde Hidalgo de Procel (September 29, in Loja, Ecuador – February 20, in Guayaquil, Ecuador) was an Ecuadorian physician, poet, and activist.

Antonio made the request to the secular high school Colegio Bernardo Valdivieso. However, reaction in the community was not very positive, and she had to face rejection from local people for attending high school. Not only did the local priest force her to listen to the mass two steps outside of the church's entrance, but mothers also prohibited their daughters from befriending her.

Nevertheless, Matilde's mother staunchly defended her. Despite all of these obstacles, in October 8, she was the first woman to graduate high school in Ecuador. When applying to the Central University of Ecuador, she was originally denied due to her being a woman. According to the dean of medicine faculty, she had to focus on building a home and having children.