María Jesús Alvarado Rivera

María Jesús Alvarado Rivera (27 May 18786 May 1971) was a Peruvian rebel feminist, educator, journalist, writer and social activist. She was noted by the National Council of Women of Peru in 1969 as the "first modern champion of women's rights in Peru".

Early life Alvarado Rivera was born in Chincha Alta on 27 May 1878. Her parents were Cayetano Alvarado Arciniega, owner and administrator of the estate Chacrabajo, and Jesus Rivera Martinez; they were both natives of Chincha Province. She was the tenth of thirteen children. Due to the War of the Pacific, her family was forced to sell their property and settle in Lima. As was customary for that time her education went only until the primary school. However, during that short time, she learned to read and write well. Her subsequent studies were self-taught. She then attended a private high school run by Elvira García y García (leader of the feminist movement in Peru), after which she became a teacher. Disturbed by the antiquated educational system, she studied sociology on her own and was instrumental in introducing advanced methods of "vocational education, euthanasia, the health and the matrimonial care of school children and the control of sexually transmitted diseases." She also believed in women's role as a mother. sparked public interest in the idea of women's suffrage, though with mixed responses. The Daughters of Palma, Angelica, and Augusta claimed "Finally the woman has appeared who will liberate us from the oppressive subordination in which we live," after hearing her lecture. Others thought her ideas were too radical and would cause anarchy and deterioration of family values as women abandoned their traditional roles. In Argentina, she taught school and directed dramas which she had authored on subjects of social and moral issues in society.