1935–1947: (La Voix des Femmes as Microphone for the Oppressed — Editors Garoute Sylvain Perez and Desgraves Valcin Characterizing the Newspaper as the Micro…

1935–1947: (La Voix des Femmes as Microphone for the Oppressed — Editors Garoute Sylvain Perez and Desgraves Valcin Characterizing the Newspaper as the Microphone for the Oppressed That Would “Denounce Injustices and Abuses and Unite All Haitians in a Common Love for the Country,” Sylvain Explaining It Would “Connect with All Women Throughout the World Free or Oppressed to Work for Women’s Emancipation,” Full Circulation in Major Cities and LFAS Chapters Including Les Cayes Cap-Haïtien Saint-Marc Port-de-Paix and Jacmel, Also Circulated in North America — Bryn Mawr Holding a Subscription Even Before Sylvain Became a Student, Awarded a Journalism Prize at the 1937 Paris Exposition, Each Issue Featuring Pour ou Contre le Féminisme? and Republished Essays from Colombia Cuba and Peru): The editors — Alice Garoute, Madeleine Sylvain, Jeanne Perez, and Cléante Desgraves Valcin — characterized La Voix des Femmes as the microphone for the oppressed, declaring it would denounce injustices and abuses and unite all Haitians in a common love for the country. Sylvain explained it would be the link between all Haitians who did not know enough about women, and would try to connect with all women throughout the world, free or oppressed, to work for women’s emancipation. The newspaper had full circulation in the major cities of each region and in cities with LFAS chapters, including Les Cayes, Cap-Haïtien, Saint-Marc, Port-de-Paix, and Jacmel. It was also circulated in North America through subscription — Bryn Mawr College held a subscription to La Voix des Femmes even before Sylvain became a student. Through the newspaper, the LFAS members situated themselves as key voices in Haiti’s press corps and the intellectual family of Latin America. During the 1937 Paris Exposition, the writers were awarded a journalism prize for excellence in reporting. Each issue included a section devoted to guest respondents answering the question Pour ou contre le féminisme? and republished essays and speeches from thinkers throughout the region, including writers from Colombia, Cuba, and Peru. The newspaper was a space for critical self-reflection and social analysis — the workshops made public, the debates made permanent, the feminist vision made transmissible across oceans and generations.