I was very young when I first heard of Argentina’s Eva Peron. Her story captivated me. She was dead by the time I was born, yet I have always been fascinated by her, even before I fully understood what she had accomplished in her short life. I don’t remember why I was so awestruck by her as a young girl (probably by her beauty) , but as a woman I love that she inspired millions to help the poor and to give women their right to vote.
Eva Peron was not born into wealth, in fact she was born in rural poverty. She was the fourth of five illegitimate children. At the age of fifteen, she left home for Buenos Aires where she hoped to pursue a theatrical career and to work her way out of the intense poverty she had always known.
She found work in the theatre soon after she arrived in Buenos Aires. At that time, even at her very young age, she joined in the campaign for women to be given the vote and to deal with the widespread poverty in Argentina. By the 1945 she had met and married Juan Peron and six months later he became President of Argentina. During the presidential campaign, Eva often appeared with her husband, becoming the first woman in Argentine history to do so. (She also was the first woman in Argentine public life to wear trousers). It was in her role as Argentina’s First Lady that she accomplished so much for women and for the poor. She founded schools, orphanages and hospitals. She was much loved by the working class of Argentina. Representing Argentina, Eva Peron toured Europe and met with the Pope. She worked tirelessly to establish equality of political rights between men and women and universal suffrage in Argentina. In 1946, a law granting this was unanimously passed. She then created the Female Peronist Party, which was the first large female political party in the nation. By 1951, the party had 500,000 members and 3600 headquarters throughout the country. Thousands of women entered politics because of Eva and were the first women to be active in Argentine politics. Even today, almost sixty years after her death, Argentine women involved in politics still credit Eva Peron for their ability to take part in government.
Like so many others who lived life to its fullest, accomplished a great deal in so little time, and had an immense impact, Eva Peron died at a young age. In 1952, at the age of thirty-three, she died of cervical cancer. Honouring the ambitious and passionate women who blazed trails for the rest of us . . . it’s a good thing.
Eva Peron was not born into wealth, in fact she was born in rural poverty. She was the fourth of five illegitimate children. At the age of fifteen, she left home for Buenos Aires where she hoped to pursue a theatrical career and to work her way out of the intense poverty she had always known.
She found work in the theatre soon after she arrived in Buenos Aires. At that time, even at her very young age, she joined in the campaign for women to be given the vote and to deal with the widespread poverty in Argentina. By the 1945 she had met and married Juan Peron and six months later he became President of Argentina. During the presidential campaign, Eva often appeared with her husband, becoming the first woman in Argentine history to do so. (She also was the first woman in Argentine public life to wear trousers). It was in her role as Argentina’s First Lady that she accomplished so much for women and for the poor. She founded schools, orphanages and hospitals. She was much loved by the working class of Argentina. Representing Argentina, Eva Peron toured Europe and met with the Pope. She worked tirelessly to establish equality of political rights between men and women and universal suffrage in Argentina. In 1946, a law granting this was unanimously passed. She then created the Female Peronist Party, which was the first large female political party in the nation. By 1951, the party had 500,000 members and 3600 headquarters throughout the country. Thousands of women entered politics because of Eva and were the first women to be active in Argentine politics. Even today, almost sixty years after her death, Argentine women involved in politics still credit Eva Peron for their ability to take part in government.
Like so many others who lived life to its fullest, accomplished a great deal in so little time, and had an immense impact, Eva Peron died at a young age. In 1952, at the age of thirty-three, she died of cervical cancer. Honouring the ambitious and passionate women who blazed trails for the rest of us . . . it’s a good thing.
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