Elina Guimarães facts for kids

Elina Guimarães (1904-1991) was an important Portuguese writer and a leader in the fight for women's rights during the mid-20th century. She worked hard to make sure girls and women had better education and more opportunities.

Elina Guimarães' Early Life and Education

Elina Júlia Chaves Pereira Guimarães was born in Lisbon, Portugal, on August 8, 1904. She was the only daughter of Alice Pereira Guimarães and Vitorino Máximo de Carvalho Guimarães. Her father was a military officer and also held important political jobs, even serving as a kind of prime minister for a short time in 1925.

Growing up, Elina was surrounded by politics. From a young age, she became very interested in how people could take action to change things, especially for women's rights. She studied at home, like many girls from wealthy families at the time, and then went to secondary school. Later, she studied law at the University of Lisbon and graduated in 1926.

Even though she never worked as a lawyer, her strong knowledge of women's rights from a legal point of view was very helpful. She used this knowledge to teach many women about their rights.

Fighting for Women's Rights

Joining the Feminist Movement

In 1925, while still a university student, Elina joined the feminist movement. Feminism is about believing that all people, regardless of gender, should have equal rights and opportunities. She wrote an article in a student newspaper, Vida Académica. In her article, she disagreed with comments made by Júlio Dantas, who had said that women who studied or worked stopped being "real" women.

Because of her article, Adelaide Cabete invited Elina to join the Conselho Nacional das Mulheres Portuguesas (CNMP), which means the National Council of Portuguese Women. This was a very important group working for women's rights in Portugal.

Leading the CNMP

Elina quickly became a key member of the CNMP.

• In 1927, she became the general secretary of the CNMP.
• In 1928, she was chosen as the vice-president of the CNMP's board.

She actively argued for women to have the right to be involved in politics and to vote. This right to vote is called suffrage.

Writing for Change

Elina wrote many articles about feminism and legal topics. These articles often appeared in newspapers and magazines. She wrote about:

• Co-education: This means boys and girls learning together in the same schools.
• Women's political rights: The right for women to participate in government.
• Women's access to professional careers: The right for women to have jobs like doctors, lawyers, or scientists.

She was also the editor of the CNMP’s newsletter, Alma feminina, in 1929 and 1930. She also managed the "Feminist Page" in the magazine Portugal Feminino. Her writings appeared in many other important newspapers, like Diário de Notícias and O Primeiro de Janeiro.

Family Life and Continued Activism

In 1928, Elina married Adelino da Palma Carlos. He was a lawyer and a law professor. He later became the head of the first government in Portugal after the Carnation Revolution in 1974. This revolution ended the right-wing government known as the Estado Novo. Elina and Adelino had two children.

In 1931, Elina joined other thinkers and activists to protest against stopping co-education in primary schools. She also argued that all girls should learn the same amount of Science, Geography, and History as boys.

In 1945, she joined the Movement of Democratic Unity (MUD). This group was against the Estado Novo government. In 1946, she was again elected vice-president of the CNMP. However, in 1947, the Estado Novo government ordered the CNMP to close down.

Elina was also an important member of several international organizations, including the International Council of Women and the International Alliance for Women's Suffrage. This shows her work for women's rights went beyond Portugal.

Later Life and Legacy

New Rights and Publications

Exactly two years after the Carnation Revolution in 1974, Portugal's new Political Constitution was put into action. This new law made men and women equal in all areas, including within families.

Elina's articles, published between 1970 and 1975, were collected in a book called Coisas de Mulheres (Women’s Matters). In 1979, she wrote a booklet called Mulheres Portuguesas: Ontem e Hoje (Portuguese Women Past and Present). This booklet talked about the short history of feminism in Portugal. She spoke out against the unfair differences between men and women at the time. She once said that it was "humiliating" that women needed many years of study to have the same rights as men who could only read and write.

Honors and Awards

Elina Guimarães passed away on June 26, 1991, in Lisbon.

On April 26, 1985, she was given a special honor called Officer of the Order of Liberty. This Portuguese award is given to people who have helped the cause of democracy and freedom. The Order was created after the Carnation Revolution. Elina Guimarães was one of only seven women that President Ramalho Eanes personally chose to honor. He recognized her "example and activity" in highlighting the important role of women in Portuguese society.

A special fund was created in her name, managed by the Portuguese Bar Association. Since 2016, this fund gives out the Elina Guimarães prize every year. This prize goes to the person or group that has done the most to help women's rights and promote equality between genders.

See also

In Spanish: Elina Guimarães para niños