Visitación Padilla was a Honduran teacher and civil rights activist who campaigned for the rights of women in Honduras and was outspoken against U.S. imperialism, creating newspapers and feminist associations. She is considered one of the first feminists in Honduras. There is little information about her in Spanish, and even less in English, so this post will be shorter than usual.
Born in the late 1800s in a village in the countryside (Ojo de Agua), she moved to the capital of Tegucigalpa to get her teaching degree, and then helped to create the Ateneo of Honduras foundation. She was also the founder of the Juan Rafael Mora newspaper, and the Sociedad Cultural Femenina (Women’s Cultural Society), which is considered to be the first women’s organization in the country and fought for women’s rights in Honduras. Padilla served as its secretary, and campaigned for the establishment of Mother’s Day in Honduras as well as a night school for women.
During Honduras’s civil war in 1924, she spoke out against it in the National Defense Bulletin, and was candid in her support for the right to vote for women. When Honduran women finally gained the right to vote in 1954, Padilla was there.
Padilla died from a stroke at the age of 78 in Comayaguela. It is often acknowledged in Honduran culture that Padilla is a forgotten part of history, although today feminist organizations, such as the Movimiento de Mujeres por la Paz (Women’s Movement for Peace), have been formed in her memory and are recognizing her importance in Honduran history.