PERU: A Break for the Ladies

With a stroke of the pen last week, Peruvian President Manuel Odria scratched Peru’s name from the dwindling list of American nations that deny women the vote. In his oak-paneled office, he signed a constitutional amendment extending full political rights to Peruvian women. Only Haiti and Paraguay still discriminate against women, and Haiti does allow them to vote in municipal elections. Said Odria: “Now the Peruvian woman can elect and be elected. I believe that she is at least as well prepared as the men to make proper use of the suffrage.”