The Organization of Angolan Women (Portuguese: Organização Mulher Angolana (OMA)) is a political organisation in Angola, which was founded in 1962 to target women to support the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola. It was co-founded by

Deolinda Rodrigues Francisco de Almeida Deolinda Rodrigues Francisco de Almeida (''nom de guerre'', Langidila; honorary title, "Mother of the Revolution"; 10 February 1939 – 2 March 1967) was an Angolan nationalist, militant, writer, and translator, who also taught, wrote poetry, and ...

History

The Organization of Angolan Women was established in 1962 and was originally founded to rally support for the new political party known as the

MPLA The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social dem ...

. Once

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

was officially independent of Portugal in 1975 following the

Angolan War of Independence The Angolan War of Independence (; 1961–1974), called in Angola the ("Armed Struggle of National Liberation"), began as an uprising against forced cultivation of cotton, and it became a multi-faction struggle for the control of Portugal ...

, the Organization of Angolan Women provided the best opportunity for female activism in local government. Total involvement faltered in the 1980s. In 1985 membership reached 1.8 million, but by 1987 membership dropped to less than 1.3 million. Rural violence and regional destabilization disheartened many of the rural members. However, it was also during the 1980s that Angola passed the first anti-discrimination laws and established strict

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, hum ...

laws to support uneducated women.

Ruth Neto Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

, the sister of the former president of Angola, was elected to be secretary general of the OMA and the head of its fifty-three-member national committee in 1983. She was re-elected on March 2, 1988. The OMA expanded education for women, created programs to increase

among women, and during the 1980s the Angolan government created laws against

gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primaril ...

in wages and working conditions. In 1999,

Luzia Inglês Van-Dúnem Luzia Pereira de Sousa Inglês Van-Dúnem (born 11 January 1948) is an Angolan politician, feminist and expert in military telecommunications. She is a member of the Angolan National Assembly, as a member of the Popular Movement for the Liberati ...

was elected Secretary-General of the Organização Mulher Angolana (OMA), which is the women's branch of political party, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola(MPLA), and was re-elected in 2005.

Secretary Generals

(elected 1983; re-elected 1988) *

(elected 1999; re-elected 2005)

References

{{Authority control Women in Angola Women's organizations based in Angola MPLA Women's wings of political parties 1962 establishments in Angola Women's wings of communist parties Organizations established in 1962