The Organization of Angolan Women (Portuguese: Organização Mulher Angolana (OMA)) is a political organisation in Angola, which was founded in 1962 to target women to support the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola. It was co-founded by Deolinda Rodrigues Francisco de Almeida.[1]

History

The Organization of Angolan Women was established in 1962 and was originally founded to rally support for the new political party known as the MPLA.[2][3][4] Once Angola was officially independent of Portugal in 1975 following the Angolan War of Independence, the Organization of Angolan Women provided the best opportunity for female activism in local government.[5] Total involvement faltered in the 1980s. In 1985 membership reached 1.8 million, but by 1987 membership dropped to less than 1.3 million. Rural violence and regional destabilization disheartened many of the rural members.[5] However, it was also during the 1980s that Angola passed the first anti-discrimination laws and established strict literacy laws to support uneducated women.[6]

The organization established its first national executive body in 1976, and elected Ruth Neto, the sister of the president of Angola, as the national co-ordinator for OMA.[7]: 10 [8]: 19, 93  When the organization restructured in 1983,[8]: 22–23  she was elected as the secretary general of the OMA and the head of its fifty-three-member national committee. She was re-elected on March 2, 1988,[5] and served as the secretary general for twenty-one years.[9] The OMA expanded education for women, created programs to increase literacy among women, and during the 1980s the Angolan government created laws against gender discrimination in wages and working conditions.[5]

In 1999, Luzia Inglês Van-Dúnem was elected Secretary-General of the Organização Mulher Angolana (OMA), which is the women's branch of political party, the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), and was re-elected in 2005.[10][11][12] She was succeeded in 2021 by Joana Tomás.[13]

Secretary Generals

  • Ruth Neto (served as national co-ordinator from 1976-1983; elected secretary general in 1983; re-elected 1988)
  • Luzia Inglês Van-Dúnem (elected 1999; re-elected 2005)
  • Joana Tomás (elected 2021)

References

  1. ↑ Moorman, Marissa J. (15 October 2008). Intonations: A Social History of Music and Nation in Luanda, Angola, from 1945 to Recent Times. Ohio University Press. ISBN 978-0-8214-4304-0. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  2. ↑ Smith, Bonnie G. (2008). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History. Oxford University Press. p. 54. ISBN 9780195148909.
  3. ↑ "Liberation in Southern Africa: The Organization of Angolan Women". African Activist Archive (Michigan State University). Retrieved 2018-05-07.
  4. ↑ Tétreault, Mary Ann (1994). Women and Revolution in Africa, Asia, and the New World. Univ of South Carolina Press. pp. 95, 97–100. ISBN 9781570030161.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Angola - Organization of Angolan Women". www.country-data.com. Retrieved 2019-08-05.
  6. ↑ Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola-Workers' Party (Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola-Partido de Trabalho). Angola: Trabalho e luta. Paris: Réalisation (Edições DIP), 1985.
  7. ↑ Liberation in Southern Africa: The Organization of Angolan Women (PDF). Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Committee for the Liberation of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea. 1976. OCLC 3208673. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 November 2020.
  8. 1 2 Organization of Angolan Women (1984). Gough, Jana (ed.). Angolan Women Building the Future. Translated by Holmes, Marga. London, UK: Zed Books. ISBN 978-0-86232-262-5.
  9. ↑ "Os momentos marcantes da homenagem a Ruth Neto" [The Remarkable Moments of the Tribute to Ruth Neto]. Jornal de Angola (in Portuguese). Luanda, Angola. 8 April 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  10. ↑ "Luzia Inglês "Inga", SG da OMA". CLUB-K ANGOLA - Notícias Imparciais de Angola (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  11. ↑ "Luzia Inglês". Rede Angola - Notícias independentes sobre Angola. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  12. ↑ "ANGOLA: LUZIA INGLÊS VAN-DÚNEM REELEITA SECRETÁRIA-GERAL DA OMA". www.angop.ao. Retrieved 2021-01-12.
  13. ↑ "Joana Tomás é a nova secretária-geral da OMA" [Joana Tomás Is the New Secretary General of the OMA]. Televisão Pública de Angola (in Portuguese). Luanda, Angola. 26 March 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
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