Julia Verónica Matus Madrid is a lawyer and vice president of the La Morada Women’s Development Corporation, which makes practical and theoretical contributions to the Chilean feminist movement. She was a law student at the University of Chile (1969-1973) during the intense political period that began with the presidency of Salvador Allende, the first democratically elected Socialist president of Chile, and ended with the coup that brought the dictator Augusto Pinochet to power. In that context, she worked to defend and promote human rights at the Committee for Cooperation for Peace, the Vicariate of Solidarity, and the Women’s Program of the Chilean Human Rights Commission. She was also involved in the feminist movement of the 1980s, which challenged the dictatorship by fighting for “democracy in the country and democracy at home.” The author of many publications on the law and gender equality, Ms. Matus continues to work in areas of human rights, gender, and quality of life, both in Chile and internationally.
