Francisca Praguer Fróes


Francisca Praguer Fróes was a Brazilian physician, activist, feminist, and writer. She was one of five women in Brazil to complete a degree of higher education in 1893.

Biography

Francisca graduated from the Bahian School of Medicine and Pharmacy in 1893. She was the first woman in Brazil to be trained in medicine. Specializing in Gynecology and Obstetrics, Froes devoted herself to the field of political and civil rights of women. She was a diligent defender of women's rights to health, particularly those affected with sexually transmitted diseases. She was an advocate for public health and education on the topic of hygiene and sexual moral. Borges claimed that Froes' career showed "how she used her position of authority within the medical profession as the fulcrum from which to press a feminist argument". She married João Américo Garcez Fróes, a physician and academic.