And even though both she and her family were victim of teasing, harassments by a society who didn´t understand why a woman want to study. Hidalgo was born in an epoch characterized for the church domain over the state, that involved many prohibitions for the women at the time, they were prohibited from studying high school degree or university careers.Īlways, she counted with the support of her mother and brother. Hidalgo was born in Loja, September 29th of 1889, was the younger of six siblings in an originally Venezuelan family. Matilde is the clear example of the female struggle to break the gap of gender that for centuries affected the Ecuadorian woman, Latin – American and the word.

Many are the achievements that are granted to Matilde Hidalgo, between them, be the first woman with a high school degree of the country in October 1913, the first female medical graduate with honors of Ecuador in November 1921 and the first woman to vote in throughout Latin-American. Matilde Hidalgo de Procel, Latin-American women, Ecuadorian native of the city of Loja and advance to her time fought for the women rights. In the medicine this struggle has not been left behind and several has been the women who, based on courage and effort have accomplished win a legacy in a profession that in its moments was government only by men. Long has been the struggle of women through the history to assert their rights both in politically, economically and sociocultural. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSA’s view on the topic, nor The European Sting’s one. She is affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations ( IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. This article was exclusively written for The European Sting by Ms. Jacqueline Carolina Beltrán Molina, third grade student of medical career in the “Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador”.

Matilde hidalgo