Brazilian Feminism and Political Movements

Brazilian Feminism and Political Movements

This paper will show that the feminist movement in Brazil was an uphill struggle; women had to reinvent their position in society, resist the military regime of an authoritarian state, and organize and unify themselves as a group before they gained women’s rights. After suffrage was granted women had decades more work before equal rights were established.

Male supremacy was the norm in Brazilian culture. Men and women were brought up to lead completely different lives. From childhood on women were confined to the domestic sphere while men conquered the public sphere. A girl’s education was just enough to allow her to function in society, focusing much more on domesticity. Boys were encouraged to complete higher courses of study as he would be the breadwinner of the family. The man was the head of the household; he had the legal right to say how his children were brought up, the means of their education, and even where the family’s place of residence was. Women were denied all of these until their husband’s death.

One of the greatest obstacles the women’s movement faced was