Did you know?

Why do we celebrate March 8th? 🤔

Warelog
| 07/03/2025

International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8th. This date is important as it allows us to reflect on the achievements and challenges faced by women on the path to gender equality in all spheres of life.

The celebration of International Women’s Day dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. This day was celebrated for the first time in 1911, on the initiative of Clara Zetkin, approved at the international congress of women in the Socialist International in 1910. In the early years it was celebrated on different days, but always in March, on the 19th and 25th, depending on the different contexts or countries.

After the strike of Russian women workers on March 8th, 1917, which marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution, it began to be celebrated on that date. In 1975, the United Nations officially established this date as International Women’s Day.

Who were the women who marked the Portugal’s history?

This day aims to celebrate the rights that women have achieved to date, remembering the path towards equality.

Defending causes such as the right to vote, equal pay, greater representation in leadership positions, protection in situations of physical and/or psychological violence or access to education remain relevant because, in many parts of the world, these rights remain unfulfilled.

So today we highlight 5 women who marked the history of Portugal, with courage and determination, in the search for gender equality.

Adelaide Cabete

Graduated in Medicine in 1900 from the Lisbon Medical-Surgical School, presenting as the subject of her dissertation a study entitled “Protection of Poor Pregnant Women”, which was later published.

Immediately demonstrated a remarkable humanist streak and social awareness, dedicating herself to problems that were largely forgotten or overlooked in Portuguese daily life in the middle of the century.

Politically, she was a staunch and outspoken republican, although her greatest struggle and main field of action and debate was feminism, of which she was a passionate activist.

She was the one who organized the famous “Leagues of Kindness” in Portugal, a voluntary social welfare organization run by women.

Carolina Beatriz Ângelo

A pioneer of suffragist feminism, she was the first woman to practice surgery and exercise the right to vote in Portugal.

In 1902, Carolina Beatriz Ângelo was the first Portuguese doctor to operate at the Hospital de S. José, in Lisbon, under the guidance of Miguel Bombarda.

The first electoral law of the First Republic, published on March 14, 1911, recognized the right to vote for “Portuguese citizens over 21 years of age, who could read and write and were heads of households.” Carolina Beatriz saw in this ambiguous wording of the law an opportunity to exercise her right to vote, invoking her status as head of the family after the death of her husband Januário Barreto in June 1910.

A widow with a minor daughter in her care, over 21 years old and educated, she sent a request to the president of the 2nd District of Lisbon’s electoral registration committee asking for her name to be “included in the new electoral census that must be carried out.”

On April 28, 1911, Judge João Baptista de Castro handed down a historic and revolutionary ruling by including Carolina Beatriz Ângelo’s name in the electoral registration book.

“To exclude a woman (…) just because she is a woman (…) is simply absurd and unfair and in opposition to the very ideas of democracy and justice proclaimed by the Republican Party. (…) Where the law does not distinguish, the judge cannot distinguish (…) and I order that the claimant be included in the electoral census».

Referring to Portuguese citizens, Judge Castro considered that the law encompassed both men and women, “because if the legislator had intended to exclude them, he would have made this clear”.

Thus, on 28 May 1911, in the elections for the Constituent Assembly, Carolina Beatriz Ângelo became the first Portuguese woman to exercise the right to vote

Maria Veleda

Maria Veleda was a Portuguese educator, activist and feminist who played a crucial role in promoting women’s rights during the First Republic in Portugal.

At a time when women were fighting for greater participation in public life and equal rights, Maria Veleda founded the Republican League of Portuguese Women (LRMP) in 1911. This pioneering organisation covered a range of areas, including women’s suffrage, access to education, labour rights and women’s active participation in politics. In addition to its political and social initiatives, the LRMP published a magazine called “A Mulher e a Criança”, which discussed topics related to women’s rights, education, health and social issues. She was instrumental in disseminating feminist ideas and raising public awareness of the issues affecting women at the time.

Her work and determination to challenge the social norms of the time left a lasting legacy, paving the way for future generations of women in Portugal.

Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo

Maria de Lurdes Pintassilgo (1930-2004) — **1930-2004**

Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo is an essential figure in the history of Portuguese and European politics, not only because she was the first and only woman to hold the position of Prime Minister in Portugal (1 August 1979) and the second in Europe, two months after Margaret Thatcher took office in the United Kingdom.

“Feminism is not the struggle of women against men: it is the struggle of women for their self-determination; it is the process of liberation from a subjugated culture; it is the conquest of the social and political space where being a woman has a place.”

Maria Teresa Horta

In addition to being one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Portuguese literature, Maria Teresa Horta founded the Women’s Liberation Movement (MLM), an activist group that fought to promote gender equality and combat discrimination against women. The group excelled in sparking debate on feminist issues and fighting for women’s rights in various spheres of society.

Throughout her career, Maria Teresa Horta received several awards recognizing her unique contribution to literature and activism in Portugal. She continues to be an influential figure, inspiring not only for her literary genius, but also for her commitment to gender equality and the defense of women’s rights.

The role of women in the fight for equality

All the women listed continue to be the exception that confirms the rule of discrimination and inequalities in work and employment.

Remembering them is therefore a reminder of the numerous barriers that women face in accessing careers and decision-making positions in politics and business. It is a reminder of the discrepancy between the high number of male graduates and the underrepresentation of women in decision-making and leadership positions.