Emilienne Rochecouste
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
1948–1953
ConstituencyPlaines Wilhems–Black River
Personal details
Born20 September 1892
Died28 February 1979(1979-02-28) (aged 86)
Quatre Bornes, Mauritius
Political partyIndependent
OccupationSchool teacher

Marie Louise Emilienne Rochecouste OBE (20 September 1892 – 28 February 1979) was a Mauritian politician. In 1948 she became the first woman elected to the Legislative Council, serving until 1953.

Biography

Born Marie Louise Emilienne Orian in 1892 into a mixed-race Franco-Mauritian family, Rochecouste worked as a primary school teacher and headmistress.[1][2][3] She married Raphael Rochecouste July in 1916.[1] During World War II their son Jean died while serving in the Royal Air Force.[4]

Rochecouste stood as an independent candidate in the six-seat Plaines Wilhems–Black River constituency in the August 1948 elections.[5] At an executive committee meeting held on 11 July, the Labour Party decided to support her candidacy despite being opposed to the concept of female suffrage.[3] She finished second in the vote, becoming the first woman elected to the Legislative Council. Following the elections, Denise De Chazal was appointed as a second female member.[3] She lost her seat in the 1953 elections, finishing twentieth out of thirty candidates.[6]

Rochecouste was appointed an OBE in the 1958 Birthday Honours. In the 1970s the government school in her hometown of Quatre Bornes was named after her.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Chit Geerjanand Dukhira (2002) History of Mauritius: Experiments in Democracy, p100
  2. ↑ Susan Franceschet, Mona Lena Krook & Netina Tan (2018) The Palgrave Handbook of Women’s Political Rights p549
  3. 1 2 3 Ramola Ramtohul (2009) Engendering Mauritian History: The HiddenControversies over Female Suffrage Afrika Zamani, No. 17, pp63–80
  4. ↑ Jean Maxime Herve Rochecouste Commonwealth War Graves Commission
  5. ↑ Sydney Selvon (2018) A New Comprehensive History of Mauritius, chapter 40
  6. ↑ Results of the General Election for the Mauritius Legislative Council held on 26 August 1953 Electoral Commission
  7. ↑ EMILIENNE ROCHECOUSTE GS: 24 élèves s’automutilent avec une lame de taille crayon Le Mauricien, 16 June 2011
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