Jovita Feitosa

Antonia Alves ("Jovita") Feitosa, was a Brazilian soldier. She enlisted in the Brazilian army disguised as a man in order to fight in the Paraguayan War. Upon being discovered she was fêted as a patriotic heroine, although the authorities forbade her to participate in a combatant role. She has been interpreted as a military heroine, as a symbol for the war against sexism, as a tool of Imperial recruitment propaganda, and as an archetypal warrior-maiden.