Josefa Escoda was a well-known advocate of women's right of suffrage and founder of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.

JOSEFA ESCODA

Escoda became a social worker for the Philippine Chapter of the American Red Cross.

In the Philippines, Escoda was an active member of the suffrage movement. She was elected secretary of the General Council of Women which was created to coordinate the activities of the women suffrage workers.

She visited the United States in 1933 to undergo training in Girl Scouting. Afterwards, she returned to the Philippines to train young women to become Girl Scout leaders, and proceeded to organize the Girl Scouts of the Philippines. On 26 May 1940, President Quezon signed the charter of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines and Escoda became the group's first National Executive.

During World War II, Japanese forces invaded the Philippines. She and her husband (Colonel Antonio Escoda) associated themselves with the Volunteer Social Aid Committee which enlisted aid for the prisoners of war. Escoda's husband was arrested in June 1944, and she was also arrested two months later, and imprisoned in Fort Santiago, the same prison as her husband. Although she was offered freedom in December 1944, her loyalty to her husband was such that she remained with him, preferring to die with him in prison. Colonel Escoda was executed later that year. She was last seen on 6 January 1945, it is presumed that she was later executed.

20 September 1898

to c. 6 January 1945