Adelaide Cabete: Google doodle celebrates 156th birthday of Portuguese feminist & activist

Happy Birthday, Adelaide Cabete!

Google doodle celebrates the 156th birthday of Adelaide Cabete, a Portuguese feminist, humanitarian, physician, and activist on January 25, 2023. She tirelessly fought for women’s rights and equality in the 20th century. She was the founder of the Portuguese women's organization, Conselho Nacional das Mulheres Portuguesas, and served as its president from 1914 to 1935.

Adelaide de Jesus Damas Brazão Cabete was born on 25 January 1867 in Alcáçova near Elvas in the Alentejo region of Portugal. Her father was a rural worker who died when she was young. To help her mother after her father’s death she was unable to join the primary school. 

Despite several difficulties, Adelaide Cabete learned to read and write. At the age of 18, she married Manuel Ramos Fernandes Cabete, who encouraged her to study. When she was 23, she finished her high school diploma with distinction. She then studied medicine at the Medical-Surgical School in Lisbon and earned her degree at age 33, becoming only the third Portuguese woman to do so!

In 1900 Adelaide Cabete submitted her thesis on "Protection of poor pregnant women as a means of promoting the physical development of new generations." Her thesis promoted the protection of pregnant women and advocated for maternity leave in Portugal. She became a prominent voice in the support of maternity hospitals in Portugal, finally succeeding in 1932 when Portugal’s first maternity hospital was opened.

Adelaide Cabete founded the Republican League of Portuguese Women in 1909 and the National Council of Portuguese Women (CNMP) in 1914, two institutions that supported disadvantaged women and children and advocated for women’s emancipation.

Adelaide Cabete was the lead editor of the CNMP’s bulletin, Alma feminina, and wrote several articles about social and medical equality for women. She helped organize the first two feminist congresses in Portugal in 1924 and 1928, which promoted political, civil, educational, and economic rights for women.

Throughout her life, Adelaide Cabete actively fought for women’s suffrage and laid the groundwork for future feminist movements. Cabete is undoubtedly one of the most important figures in Portuguese society, remembered for her fearless leadership.

Source: Google doodles

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