Rita Lobato

[1] She was the second Brazilian woman physician, following Maria Augusta Generoso Estrela, who earned a degree from the New York Medical College and Hospital for Women in 1881.

Her initial enrollment caused debate, with some people arguing that women had brains too small to understand medicine or that a female doctor would never find a husband, although others were in favor of her entrance and the Echo das Damas [3] saw her as an example for Brazilian girls.

Her father, Francisco Lobato Lopes, worked with the production and marketing of dried, salted meat, which meant that the family often moved.

Their ability to gain admission to the university had been made possible by an imperial decree passed in 1879 that prohibited discrimination against women in higher education.

The cause of the episode, which resulted in physical aggression and heated discussions between those involved, was a reform that made it possible to move exams forward, among other changes that some students considered harmful.

Ironically, this was made possible by taking advantage of the rule that had caused the conflict between her brother and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

Under the influence of biologist and activist Bertha Lutz, she began to support the fight for women's right to vote, becoming an integral part of the cause in Brazil.