Synopsis
IF THE SOUTHERN EUROPEAN dictatorships of the interwar period had anything in common, it was their attitudes toward women. Although these regimes were initiated during a period characterized by democratization, the emergence of feminist movements, and significant increases in women on the labor market, they all emphasized that women's place was in the home, glorifying motherhood and the primordial role of the family. At the same time, these dictatorships faced the “problem” integrating women into politics. Some would elevate this objective to a nationalist goal and an important means of mobilizing their regimes. This article addresses Salazarism's attitudes toward women and their organizations, providing some basis for comparison with the other dictatorships (for example, that of Benito Mussolini in Italy), by which, to some extent, some institutions of the Portuguese
Estado Novo (New State) were inspired.
Also available in French: "Femmes et Salazarisme", Christine Fauré (Sous la dir. de), Encyclopedie politique et historique des femmes, Paris, P.U.F., 1997, pp. 685-699.