Marta Lamas facts for kids

Marta Lamas speaking about one of her books in Mexico City

Marta Lamas Encabo (born in 1947) is a Mexican expert in anthropology and a professor. She teaches at important universities like the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). Marta Lamas is known as one of Mexico's most important feminists. She has written many books to help people understand feminism and gender better. Her goal is to reduce unfair treatment and open up public discussions. Since 1990, she has been the editor of Debate Feminista (Feminist Debate). This is a very important feminist magazine in Latin America. In 2005, she was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

Marta Lamas's Early Life

Marta Lamas was born in 1947 in Mexico City. Her parents were from Argentina. She studied ethnology, which is the study of different cultures, at the Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia. Later, she earned a master's degree in anthropology, the study of human societies and cultures, from the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Journalism and Writing

Marta Lamas has done a lot of work in journalism and writing.

• In 1976, she started a feminist magazine called Fem.
• In 1987, she helped create the first feminist newspaper section in Mexico. It was for the newspaper La Jornada and was called Doble Jornada (Double Day).
• In 1990, she founded Debate Feminista (Feminist Debate). This publication helps connect ideas from academic feminist studies with the real-world actions of women's rights groups. It's a place to discuss new ideas and figure out how to share them with everyone.
• Debate Feminista has become one of the most important journals in Latin America. It's special because it also publishes articles written by men.
• Marta Lamas was one of the people who started La Jornada. She also writes columns for Proceso magazine and the Spanish newspaper El País. She is an editor for the newspapers El Proceso and Diario Monitor.
• She has written many books and is a very active feminist writer.

Working for Women's Rights

Marta Lamas is also a strong activist for women's rights.

• In 1990, she started an organization called Sociedad Mexicana Pro Derechos de la Mujer (Semillas), which means "The Mexican Society in Favor of the Rights of Women."
• This group helps women who have fewer opportunities. Women who are more privileged can invest in them.
• The organization supports small businesses and groups that work together. They also offer support centers and work groups to help women with problems they face, including human rights issues.
• Semillas has grown a lot and now has offices in 24 of Mexico's 31 states.

As an Educator

Marta Lamas is a political science professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). She also lectures at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).

• In 2000, she founded the Instituto de Liderazgo Simone de Beauvoir (Simone de Beauvoir Leadership Institute). This is a feminist organization that aims to train new leaders for society.
• Its main goal is to help build a democratic society where everyone has rights and freedoms. It does this by sharing knowledge, creating new ideas, and training leaders who care about society and understand gender and different cultures.

Selected Books

Marta Lamas has written many important books. Here are some of them:

• La Bella (in)diferencia (The Beautiful (In)difference), 1991 (in Spanish).
• Cidadania e feminismo (Citizenship and Feminism), 1999 (in Portuguese).
• Diversidad cultural y tolerancia (Cultural Diversity and Tolerance), 2000 (in Spanish).
• De la identidad a la ciudadanía (The Identity of Citizenship), 2000 (in Spanish).
• Ciudadanía y feminismo: compilación de ensayos aparecidos en "Debate feminista" (Citizenship and Feminism: collection of essays from "Feminist Debate"), 2001 (in Spanish).
• Feminismo: transmisiones y retransmisiones (Feminism: Transmissions and Retransmissions), 2006 (in Spanish).
• Nuevos horizontes de la interrupción legal del embarazo (New Horizons of the Legal Interruption of Pregnancy), 2005 (in Spanish).
• Feminismo (Feminism), 2007 (In Spanish).
• Miradas feministas sobre las mexicanas del siglo XX (Feminist Perspectives on Mexicans of the 20th Century), 2007 (In Spanish).
• Feminism: Transmissions and Retransmissions, 2011 (In English).

See also

In Spanish: Marta Lamas para niños