The Brazilian Women's Federation or Women's Federation of Brazil (''Federação de Mulheres do Brasil'') was a

women's organization This is a list of women's organization by civics International * All India Democratic Women's Association – founded in 1981 to achieve women's emancipation in India Yes Helping Hand– Founded in 2009 for empowerment and employment of Women, D ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

active between 1949 and 1957. Like several other 'leftist feminist' projects of the 1930s and 1940s in Brazil, the Federation had strong associations with the

Brazilian Communist Party The Brazilian Communist Party (), originally the Communist Party of Brazil (), is a communist party in Brazil, founded on 25 March 1922. Arguably the oldest active political party in Brazil, it played an important role in the country's 20th- ...

(PCB).

History

The Federation was founded by Alice Tibiriçá and other communist-leaning feminists after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1945 several Brazilian women had attended the International Congress of Women in Paris, the founding event of the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-sponsored

Women's International Democratic Federation The Women's International Democratic Federation (WIDF) is an international women's rights organization. Established in 1945, it was most active during the Cold War when, according to historian Francisca de Haan, it was "the largest and probably ...

(WIDF). With the support of the Brazilian Communist Party, Tibiriçá attended a 1947 WIDF council meeting in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

as president of a new Women's Federation of Brazil, and the organization officially joined the WIDF in 1947. To give the Federation a national presence, branches were established in every state. In 1949, often given as the Federation's founding year, it held its first national meeting attended by state representatives. Like other populist movements of the time, the organization combined a national network of state representatives, a working-class membership, and neighbourhood associations concentrating on food, water and housing. Politically, the Federation subscribed to

antifascism Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

and

peace Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (suc ...

. After PCB political activity was banned in May 1947, the Federation faced increasing

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

pressure. In 1952 delegates wanting to attend the WIDF congress in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

were denied visas. In 1956

Juscelino Kubitschek Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira (; 12 September 1902 – 22 August 1976), also known by his initials JK, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 21st president of Brazil from 1956 to 1961. Kubitschek's government plan, dubbed "50 years i ...

suspended the Federation, and subsequently outlawed it. At the end of the decade, a large protest demonstration commemorated the Federation's tenth anniversary. However, the organization could no longer sustain itself, as

Branca Fialho Branca is a feminine given name. It means "white" in Portuguese (it is a Portuguese cognate of the name Blanche). People with the surname * Infanta Branca, Lady of Guadalajara (1192–1240), Portuguese royal * Infanta Branca of Portugal (1259� ...

reflected in a letter of 1962:

References

{{reflist Feminist organisations in Brazil Defunct women's organizations 1949 establishments in Brazil Organizations established in 1949 Organizations disestablished in 1957 1957 disestablishments in Brazil History of women in Brazil Women's International Democratic Federation affiliates