WomArchStruggle – Women architects in former Portuguese colonial Africa: gender and struggle for professional recognition (1953-1985)
The primary objective of the WomArchStruggle project is to systematically document and map the history of women who practised architecture in former Portuguese colonial Africa, particularly Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau and Mozambique.
This historical exploration is divided into two distinct phases, (1) the Liberation Wars period: starting from the arrival of the first woman from the metropolis in Africa in 1953, this phase covers the years of the liberation wars; (2) the early years of New Nations: this phase encompasses the period following the Portuguese revolution of 1974 up to the graduation of the first woman in architecture on the African continent, in 1985.
Furthermore, the project aims to compare the diverse life trajectories of these women, encompassing their personal, professional, and academic paths. The project also seeks to shed light on the motivations behind their migratory experiences. Within this context, it is already evident that there were the forerunners, the experts, the locals, as well as the cooperants and, later, the graduates within the African continent. The contributions of these women are of immense significance to the fields of Portuguese architecture history, gender studies, as well as colonial and post-colonial studies.
ISCTE-IUL
Leonor Matos Silva (Co-PI)
Fishermen Neighbourhoods,
Cacuaco [PT/AHU]
Team
Results
BOOK CHAPTERS
Milheiro, A.V. (2024, forthcoming), “Architecture between Colonialism and Independence: Being a Woman Architect in Former Portuguese Africa (1953-1979)”, E. Dainese (ed.). (não temos capa ainda, deixamos em stand-by)
Silva, L. M. (2004, forthcoming). Women’s Absence from the Public Sphere: A Look at Gender Inequality in Portuguese Architecture Schools. In Brown, M. (Ed.) “(In)visibility of ‘young’ researchers in Europe: a postcolonial perspective”, Postcolonial Directions in Education, (não temos capa ainda, deixamos em stand-by)
Vita, Francesca (2024, forthcoming). The journey of the architect Milanka Lima Gomes from Yugoslavia to Guinea-Bissau (1974-1998). In E. Dainese (ed.).
ARTICLES
Milheiro, A.V. (2024). Gendered Work in Former Portuguese Colonial Africa: Mass Labor and Public Works. In O’Mahony, C. (ed.) Special issue Constructing Craft: Contested Regionalities, The Journal of Modern Craft.
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS
Milheiro, A. V. (2023, forthcoming). Narratives on women architects in former Africa colonised by Portuguese rule: professional profiles based on training practices. Proceedings of the ICAG – International Conference on Architecture and Gender, Valencia, Spain
Silva, L. M. (2023, forthcoming). Marriage and the school of architecture in the 1940s: the case of B. (Lisbon, 1926-). Proceedings of the ICAG – International Conference on Architecture and Gender, Valencia, Spain.
PUBLICATIONS
Milheiro, A. V.; Silva, L. M. (2024, forthcoming). Arquitectas Portuguesas em África. Pedrosa, P. & Fávero, N. Arquitetas Portuguesas. Coral Books, Ricardo Afonso.
