The article analyses the trajectory of Maria Rennotte, a Belgian who in 1878 moved to Brazil working as a governess, and afterwards as a teacher and doctor. With her writings and social practice, Maria Rennotte fought for women's rights in search for better education, access to different types of work, a healthier body and political citizenship. She asserted women's participation in assistance entities, founding a Red Cross branch in São Paulo. Her trajectory enables us to state that although women were not politically considered in terms of their civil rights, had limited educational opportunities and few chances of wage-earning jobs, basically being identified as mothers and wives, they found in philanthropic associations a breach to enlarge their participation in the public sphere. Acting in national life, women changed the services offered to the people, the law, the educational and health institutions and the development of scientific knowledge.
Philanthropy; Gender; Health Professionals; Medicine; Red Cross; Maria Renotte