FEMINIST ACTIVISM IN BRAZIL: Confronting and Dismounting Backlash

Abstract (English)

Well-known for the strength and diversity of its social movements, Brazil also has a wealth of
women’s activism, not only within these social movements, but also in their (our) own feminist
movements (Sardenberg and Costa 2010, 2016). Feminists first emerged in Brazil in the 19th century
moving into the 1920s, in defence of women’s rights to an education and of the right to vote. The
movement re-emerged in the late 1970s, as part of the process of re-democratisation of the country that
did away with the military dictatorship. In so doing, feminisms stretched the concept of democracy to
include women’s rights, gaining voice in the 1988 Constitution (Alvarez 1990; Pitanguy 2003). Since
then, feminisms in Brazil have expanded into the state apparatus and diversified, incorporating new
sectors throughout the country, making it necessary to always speak of feminisms in the plural in Brazil
(Sardenberg and Costa 2010, 2016). More recently, feminists have become a strong force and voice in
confronting the neofascist backlash against women’s rights and gender equality in Brazil, particularly
that enacted by ex-President Jair Bolsonaro and his religious fundamentalist followers. During President Lula’s first two terms in office (2003-2010) and those of President Dilma
Rousseff, both members of the Partido dos Trabalhadores (Workers’ Party – PT), feminist and
women’s movements were able to articulate a more participatory form of state feminism, making
important contributions towards re-defining women’s place in, and building a more gender equitable,
society. These movements were instrumental in drawing up new legislation promoting gender equity
and in the formulation of public policies for women, particularly in confronting gender-based violence,
carving new spaces in state machineries to implement and monitor the policies (Sardenberg and Costa
2010, 2016). They exercised their right to have voice, that is, a say in the course of their lives and that
of the country itself. However, with the coup against President Dilma Rousseff and the rise to power of
the far-right and religious fundamentalisms, instances of backlash against women’s rights were
continuously attempted (Sardenberg, Mano, Sacchet, 2020a). In our research we have focused on three major issues: the termination and re-installation of the ‘Bolsa Família Program’, a conditional cash transfer to poor families during the pandemic, which
benefitted women primarily; the rising number of cases of gender-based violence, both in the domestic
sphere as well as in the political arena; and the continuous attempts to block access to legal abortions,
corresponding to the rise of institutional violence against women and girl victims of rape (Sardenberg
et al. 2024). As will be shown in the following sections, in all these instances, an array of different
‘actors’ have been involved either in pushing back against women’s rights or in acting to protect