A Revolução das Saias. Da luta pelo sufrágio feminino ao pioneirismo político de Maria de Miranda Leão na Assembleia Legislativa do Amazonas (1890-1937)

Abstract

The right to suffrage was the desire that motivated Brazilian women since the end of the 19th century. After achieving education and work, voting and eligibility represented the achievement that would allow many other rights to become reality and transform the female condition in the country. The organized feminist movement, led mainly by the Brazilian Federation for Women’s Progress (FBPF) and its state branches, is responsible for the achievement that occurred through decree 21.076, of February 24, 1932. In 1933 and 1934 elections took place across the country and they were able to vote and be voted for the first time. In several Brazilian states, women were elected to deputy positions, facing various stigmas and breaking prejudices to fulfill their mandate and have an active voice in a field that is mostly male. Amazonas is also among the pioneering Brazilian states to elect a deputy and have a female representative in the drafting of the new State Constitution, promulgated in 1935. It was up to Maria de Miranda Leão, the “little mother”, a conservative feminist, this pioneering spirit in defending the desires of Amazonian women. In this context, this work presents the nuances of female insertion in the public and political world in the State of Amazonas, presenting the protagonists and discussing the agency of the women who were involved in this process.