Joana de Barros Baptista, who helped create the first formal mechanism for equality between women and men in Portugal, has died in Lisbon at the age of 88, her family said.
Born on September 16, 1935, Joana Morais Sarmento de Barros Nascimento Baptista led a life “driven by her goal to contribute to the creation of a more inclusive and just Portuguese society, especially in matters of justice and gender equality,” the family said in a statement.
The funeral will take place at the Cascais Funeral Centre in Alcabideche. The wake will begin on Wednesday at 5pm, followed by a mass at 11:30am the following day, followed by cremation.
“With a deeply humanistic vision and sensitivity that she cultivated over many years as a secondary and higher education teacher, Joana de Barros Baptista soon became involved in civic activities,” the family recalls.
Joana de Barros Baptista was directly involved in the creation of the first official mechanism for ensuring equality between women and men in Portugal, Decree-Law 485/77, which laid the foundations of the Commission on the Status of Women (later the Commission on Equality and Women’s Rights and today the Commission on Citizenship and Gender Equality).
She served as President of the Commission on the Status of Women from 1979 to 1985 and became High Commissioner for Equality and the Family in 1997.
In November 2021, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, awarded Joana de Barros Baptista the Order of Liberty for her “commitment to the defense of women’s rights in general and Portuguese women in particular.”
Joana de Barros Baptista was the daughter of Luisa de Morais Sarmento and Henrique de Barros, Minister of State of the first constitutional government, and the granddaughter of the writer and educator João de Barros.
She was also the widow of João Alexandre Nascimento Baptista, who was Secretary of State for Culture in the 14th Constitutional Government, and left behind three children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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