Concepcion Arenal

Concepción Arenal was born on January 31, 1820 in Ferrol, Galicia, Spain. She was the daughter of a liberal military officer who died when she was nine years old. She moved to Madrid with her mother and sisters in 1834 and studied at a school for girls. She had a strong desire to become a lawyer and in 1841 she disguised herself as a man to attend the Faculty of Law at the Central University of Madrid. She was discovered but allowed to continue her studies as an auditor. She graduated in 1846 and became one of the first women to obtain a law degree in Spain. She married Fernando García Carrasco, a lawyer and writer, in 1848 and had three children with him. She collaborated with him on the liberal newspaper Iberia until his death in 1859. She then devoted herself to writing and social activism. She published books and articles on topics such as charity, philanthropy, prison reform, abolitionism, education, women's rights and labor rights. She also wrote poetry and plays that reflected her social and political views. She was awarded by the Academy of Moral Sciences and Politics for her work La beneficencia, la filantropía y la caridad (Beneficence, Philanthropy and Charity) in 1861. It was the first time that the Academy gave the prize to a woman. She was appointed as a prison visitor in 1863 and as an inspector of women's correctional houses in 1868. She visited prisons all over Spain and reported on their conditions and proposed reforms. She also founded several charitable associations to help the poor, the sick and the marginalized. She supported the Second Spanish Republic and joined the Alliance of Antifascist Intellectuals in 1936. She also worked with the Red Cross during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and helped the wounded of both sides. She went into exile in France in 1939 after Franco's victory and lived there until her death on February 4, 1893. She died of pneumonia at the age of 73 . She is regarded as one of the most important and influential writers and activists of Spanish history and culture in the 19th century. She is also remembered as a pioneer of feminism and social work in Spain .