Because SorJuana rocked! As a young girl in 17th century Mexico City, she gained fame as a writer of beautiful love poetry. In order to evade the drudgery of domestic duties, which was the lot of married Mexican women no matter how high their station, she became a nun, and continued writing.

Her argument for women’s education in Respuesta a la muy ilustre sor Filotea de la Cruz (pdf file in Spanish, and here in English) is one of feminism’s must-reads.