Top 10 Most Inspiring Portuguese Women

Photo by Luís Feliciano on Unsplash

Top 10 Most Inspiring Portuguese Women

Portugal, a small country of just over 10 million people, had one of the longest dictatorships in Europe. During this time, women’s rights were restricted. After the dictatorship fell in 1974, women received legal equality with Portuguese men including the right to vote and full marriage equality.

A generation later, many women broke off from the chains and used took the advantage of their new status. Teachers, secretaries, and factory workers, now became doctors, judges, lawyers, and world-respected scientists.

Women have still a long way to go but through several strong women, they are encouraged to build and define their paths. They have continued to use their networks to empower other women economically, socially, or politically.

This list represents and seeks to honor the courage and determination of women either alive or dead deserve to be recognized for inspiring others.

1. Carolina Beatriz Ângelo – Physician and the first woman to vote in Portugal

Carolina Beatriz Ângelo. Image by unknown author-Wikimedia

She lived at a time when the Portuguese regime systemic oppression of women. She did not see it fit that women were not allowed to vote just like men.

She is one of the first voices of Feminism in Portugal and a woman who fought hard for the emancipation of Portuguese women.

She was part of the group of women who founded the Republican League of Portuguese Women. She was involved in the founding of the Association of Feminist Propaganda, which she also directed, and projected the creation of a school for nurses as part of the fight for women’s emancipation.

2. Catarina Furtado – T.V Presenter

Image by Capsxino-Wikimedia

She has many titles to her name, including television presenter, actress, and UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador. She uses her platform to fight for Gender Equality, Education, and Justice.

She often uses her voice and channels to speak out on the ugly realities that are often hidden and dedicate her time to helping those who need it most. Author of children’s stories and song lyrics, her concern for future generations and families struggling to survive is undeniable.

Her association, Corações com Coroa, is a non-profit organization that aims to promote a culture of solidarity and inclusion among people in situations of vulnerability, risk, and poverty.

3. Patrícia Mamona – Triple Jumper

Image by filip bossuyt-Wikimedia

Sportswomen are less known and given the recognition they should.  Mamona is a tribute to all sportswomen who train daily to achieve results and show that gender is not a determining criterion.

She is a triple jumper of Angolan descent. She won the gold medal at the 2016 European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has taken Portugal’s name across borders and shown that despite the inequalities that still exist in sports and among athletes, consistency, hard work, and dedication make all the difference.

4. Margarida Fleming – Artist

Photo by dusan jovic on Unsplash

She is a young painter who represents strong women inspired by her culture. Her work is not only captivating shows that all women are different and special.

Each of the faces she creates in her paintings has a distinct essence that makes it unique and extraordinary. They are not just faces, they are women, stories lives.

She is dedicated and has a unique way of painting. The result is in paintings and is simply wonderful.  She communicates powerful messages in her work and the interpretations, are an excellent starting point for a discussion about what it is, then, to be a woman.

5. Ana Fernandes- Portuguese rapper

Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Music plays a fundamental role in our lives. Ana Fernandes, known as Capicua, has made her name on the Portuguese panorama thanks to her work.

She is a rapper, a Sociology graduate, and a feminist. The singer is inspired by Portuguese poets and uses her voice to warn about the importance of Gender Equality, Feminism, and Justice.

She has distinguished herself by cultivating a feminist attitude in a world associated with men. She believes that it is by shaping younger mindsets that you can truly make a difference, and that is also why she has created a children’s music project that sets the tone for awakening younger minds.

6. Natália Correia -Writer and Activist

Image by Vitor Oliveira from Torres Vedras, PORTUGAL-Wikimedia

She is a  historical figure. She was a Portuguese intellectual, poet, and social activist, as well as the author of the official lyrics of the “Hino dos Açores”, the regional anthem of the Autonomous Region of the Azores.

She was both a writer and activist and had a very important political role in the fight for Human Rights and Women’s Rights. She is little known internationally but in Portugal, she is a great source of pride.

She liked to be called a poet because of the feminist meaning she attributed to the word. This determination of hers was what made her move away from the politically correct, but her vision and ideology were not always validated.

Natália was sentenced to three years in prison for publishing a work considered offensive to customs and traditions and was prosecuted for having had editorial responsibility for the remarkable “Novas Cartas Portuguesas” (the book written by the “Three Marias”).

7. Ana Sofia Martins – Actress

She is an actress best known for her role as “Mara” in “A Única Mulher” (2015). She also played “Vera Andrade” in “Ouro Verde”(2017), “Carolina Folque” in “Valor da Vida” (2018), and “Carla Isabel” in “Quer o Destino”(2020) all produced by the Portuguese television channel TV.

She has several other titles such as model, presenter, activist, and feminist. She supports the Wink Kriola project, which aims to create and offer reusable pads to underprivileged girls and women, so they don’t stop working or going to school because they can’t afford them.

8. Branca Edmée Marques de Sousa Torres – Scientist

She was a leading Portuguese specialist in the peaceful applications of nuclear technology who obtained a doctorate in Paris.  She returned to Lisbon and founded the Radiochemistry Laboratory, where she continued her research for three decades.

At the age of 65 – 12 years, she became the first woman to hold the degree of professor of chemistry at a science faculty in Portugal.

In Lisbon, since 2009, there is a street in the University City named after her. Students remember her importance in understanding the areas to which she dedicated herself.  She is a true inspiration for all women in science.

9. Isabel Vaz

She is among the most influential women in Portugal.  She has stood out in Portuguese society in several areas, such as business, politics, science, arts and culture, justice, and media.

She is the recipient of the Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Award in the “Role Model” category, for her “professional and social career”. Besides merit and influence, this award also recognizes women who stand out in various areas of society, act as role models and inspire Portuguese women.

10. Joana Vasconcelos

Steak’n’Shake, Joana Vasconcelos, Porto. Image by Francisco Restivo from Porto, Portugal-Wikimedia

She is one of the most prominent visual artists in the world. Her exuberant, vibrant, and playful sculptures celebrate the creative lives of women.

She is internationally acclaimed for her sculptures and installations exploring consumer culture, collective identity, and our assumptions on what constitutes art.

Her work is disruptive, innovative, and eristic. It is impossible not to be astonished by her singular installations or sculptures, be it a five-meter-tall chandelier made from 25,000 tampons or a giant snake created out of cotton crochet.

Her work confronts feminist concerns and societal conventions, in part by using “simple” typically female-associated crafts and materials, such as crochet and tampons, to make grandiose installations. She takes objects and materials from daily life and sets them into new and intricate assemblages.