Josepha Abiertas (1894–1929) was a Filipino

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

. She was the first woman to graduate with a degree from the

Philippine Law School The Philippine Law School (PLS), founded in 1915, is a law school in the Philippines. It formerly served as the college of law of National University. It has produced lawyers such as Philippine President Carlos P. Garcia, a member of the clas ...

Life

Abiertas was born in

Capiz Capiz (), officially the Province of Capiz (Capiznon language, Capiznon/Hiligaynon language, Hiligaynon: ''Kapuoran sang Capiz''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the central part of the Western Visayas Regions of the Philippines ...

in the Philippines. She had a younger brother and they were orphaned when she was 8 years old. She was educated at the Baptist Home School in Capiz, after it was opened in 1904 by missionaries, then Capiz High School. Abiertas was

valedictorian Valedictorian is an academic title for the class rank, highest-performing student of a graduation, graduating class of an academic institution in the United States. The valedictorian is generally determined by an academic institution's grade poin ...

for her class. She moved to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

to attend the

and became the first woman to graduate with a law degree from the school. Whilst studying, Abiretas won the First Annual Oratorical Contest held at the school on 18 March 1917. She was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

on September 27, 1920, with the highest rating in the examination. As a lawyer, Abiertas fought for workers rights and farmers rights. Abiertas was also involved in advocating for equal rights for women in the Philippines, including

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the women's rights, right of women to Suffrage, vote in elections. Several instances occurred in recent centuries where women were selectively given, then stripped of, the right to vote. In Sweden, conditional women's suffra ...

. She wrote a lecture called "The New Age for Women." Abiertas was a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

, supporter of the YMCA and a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union of Manila. Abiertas died in 1929 of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

Legacy

After her death, the Josepha Abiertas House of Friendship in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

, which supported "unwed mothers and fatherless children" was founded. One of the founders was social worker and suffragist Josefa Jara Martinez.

References

External links

Abiertas House of Friendship and Radiance School
named after Josepha Abriertas {{DEFAULTSORT:Abiertas, Josepha 1894 births 1929 deaths 20th-century Filipino lawyers Filipino feminists People from Capiz Philippine Law School alumni Visayan people 20th-century Filipino women lawyers Filipino Baptists Filipino suffragists