25th of April

Before the April 25th Revolution, a quiet sorrow hung over the lives of women in Portugal. Under the long shadow of the Estado Novo, they were expected to live in silence, keepers of the home, guardians of tradition, never the authors of their own stories. The law treated them as fragile extensions of their husbands, needing permission to work, to travel, even to dream beyond the walls of their homes.

Their voices were hushed, their ambitions dimmed and their rights a distant hope. A woman’s place was predefined, her freedom rationed. And yet, even in that silence, something stirred, a quiet defiance, passed from hand to hand, heart to heart.

Then came April 25, 1974. With red carnations in rifles and songs in the streets, the revolution didn’t just bring down a regime, it cracked open a new sky. And in that bloom of freedom, women began to breathe again. To speak, to write, to march, to live as equals not shadows.

It was the beginning of a new story. One written with courage, with grace, with love.

And we must never let it be unwritten. We must never allow ourselves to go back! Freedom!!