Josefa Llanes Escoda was a notable Filipino advocate for women’s rights and a humanitarian born on September 20, 1898, in Dingras, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. She is most renowned for her work in establishing the Girl Scouts of the Philippines.
After completing her education in the Philippines, Escoda pursued further studies in the United States, where she attended Columbia University in New York and earned her Master’s degree in Sociology. Her time in the U.S. was significant in shaping her future endeavors, particularly her involvement in social work and her advocacy for women’s rights. Upon returning to the Philippines, Escoda’s passion for social service led her to become actively involved in civic work. She was instrumental in the establishment of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines in 1940, a significant contribution that aimed to empower young girls and women in the country. This organization was modeled after the Girl Scouts of America, promoting leadership, community service, and personal development among young women.
Before the Japanese invasion, her husband, Antonio Escoda, was city editor of the Manila Bulletin and correspondent for the Herald Tribune. During the Japanese occupation Josefa and her husband were active, behind-the-lines secret agents. They organized a group to smuggle supplies to American prisoners of war and get information about them to their families, and they were able to pass on vital intelligence, including troop movements, to the U.S. Army.
In 1944 while traveling in a small boat on the way to a meeting with General MacArthur, her husband was intercepted and captured by the Japanese and imprisoned at Fort Santiago in Manila. Shortly afterward, Josefa was arrested and imprisoned behind the same dark walls of this notorious Japanese prison. After four months of imprisonment, she was offered freedom, but she refused. She knew her husband faced death, and she preferred to die in prison near him, rather than go free without him. She was last seen alive on 6 January 1945, severely beaten and weak, and was transferred into a Japanese transport truck. It is presumed that she was executed and buried in an unmarked grave, either in the La Loma Cemetery or Manila Chinese Cemetery, which Japanese forces used as execution and burial grounds for thousands of Filipinos who resisted the Japanese occupation. Her body has never been found.
Josefa Llanes Escoda’s legacy lives on in the Philippines, where she is remembered as a pioneering figure in women’s rights and social work. Her life’s work, particularly in the founding of the Girl Scouts of the Philippines, continues to inspire and influence generations of young women in the country. She is commemorated for her courage, dedication, and the significant impact she made on Philippine society, especially during times of great adversity.
Josefa Llanes Escoda: ” If you happen to survive, and I fail, tell our people that the women of the Philippines did their part also in making the ember sparks of truth and liberty alive till the last moment.”
