Female Peronist Party

The Socialist Party has had considerable strength in Buenos Aires in the early 20th century. From 1918 or 1919 to 1922, the movement developed rapidly, and there were some 280,000 inscribed members in this movement among the laboring classes.

The Consejo Nacional de Mujeres was one of the most dignified and progressive of the women's organizations. It made a careful study of women's movements in different parts of the world and invited distinguished lecturers to appear before it. One of the most important lectures delivered before this body was that by Dr. Ernesto Quesada, the Argentine sociologist. Quesada advised the women of Argentina to work first on an educational program and, after they have attained equality before the law, then to take up the matter of political equality.

One of the most active of all Argentine women's organizations was the Club de Madres of Buenos Aires. The president of this organization was Dr. Ernestina Lopez de Nelson, the wife of Prof. Ernesto Nelson, an educationalist.

Historically, Buenos Aires was one of the worst centers for white-slave trade. Probably for that reason the women of the city became particularly interested in the movement for the single standard. Blanca C. De Hume made important contributions by her writings toward the solution of this problem.

As early as 1912, some of the farseeing women of Buenos Aires were making scientific studies of the condition of women workers. Carolina Muzilli published such an investigation for an exposition on social service in Ghent, Belgium, which was highly commended by the Government officials of her city. Her most interesting survey showed that even in 1919, there was a large number of women working in shoe factories, garment factories, and many other kinds of small factories in Argentina. As far as statistics were available, there were shown to be at that time 205,851 women wage earners in factories and commercial houses of Buenos Aires. These women were badly underpaid, having to work long hours with no privileges whatever, and always receiving less wages than men. When Muzilli began her investigations, she found prejudice so great that it was impossible to obtain data until she had gotten work in one of the factories. For several months, she continued in these activities until she brought out this remarkable survey of the condition of working women, one of the very few scientific studies of industrial conditions for women ever made in Latin America at that time.

Argentine law established a difference between the sexes against woman. The law limited her condition, excluding her from the management of family property, which, without condition, must be given into the hands of the husband. If the husband wastes the common property, the wife may solicit separation of their properties, if she has not, as is usually the custom on being married, assigned to her husband all property rights. The woman participated in the increase in value of the family property; but where there is a separation of this property she received her personal property again and only half of the increase. Laws granted, under certain conditions, the separation of husband and wife, but incapacitated them from marrying again.

...
Wikipedia