The best five compositions will be awarded R$5,000 (US$2,500), and the five candidates selected in the Essay category will receive R$10,000 (US$5,000). Applications will be accepted between November 21, 2012 and January 25, 2013.
On November 19th, in the nation’s capital, Brasília, the Secretaria de Políticas para as Mulheres da Presidência da República (Secretariat of Policies for Women of the Presidency or SPM), in partnership with the Secretaria de Políticas de Promoção da Igualdade Racial (Secretariat for Policies to Promote Racial Equality or Seppir), launched the Mulheres Negras contam sua História (Black Women tell your Story) award as part of the celebrations for the National Day of Black Consciousness. The ministers Eleonora Menicucci and Luiza Bairros attended the event.
National contest announced in São Luís, Maranhão by black womens’ groups and secretary of Women of Maranhão
Registrations were being accepted starting on November 21st until the 25thof this month (January), and are intended only for self-identified black women. The award is an initiative of SPM in the redemption of the anonymity of these women as subjects in the construction of Brazil’s history.
“The goal is to encourage the social inclusion of black women by strengthening the reflection of inequalities experienced by black women in their daily lives, in work, in family relationships and violence and the elimination of racism,” said Minister Eleonora.
Those interested can participate in the contest of essays and compositions and, with their works, tell the history and life of black women in the construction of Brazil. The award has two categories: “Composition” with text of at least one thousand five hundred to a maximum of three thousand characters (words), and “Essay”, with texts from six thousand to ten thousand characters. The top five compositions will be awarded with R$5,000 (US$2,500), and the five candidates selected in the “Essay” category will receive R$10,000 (US$5,000).
The entries in the categories “Composition” and “Essay” must be made at:
or mailed to the address: Prêmio Mulheres Negras contam sua História – Secretaria de Políticas para as Mulheres da Presidência da República – Praça dos Três Poderes Via N1 Leste, s/n Pavilhão das Metas. CEP 70150-908 Brasília – DF
The struggle of black women – They were black women coming from Africa in the holds of Portuguese ships in the sixteenth century until the year 1850, when the slave trade was banned. They were toiling in the sugar and later coffee plantations, in the alcoves and large kitchens of the slave masters’ houses. They were wet nurses, the vendor women, selling sweets and food on the streets, laundresses, fighters in revolts against slavery and racist oppression.
Freed from bondage, poor and anonymous, they resisted, fought discrimination and are present in the face of the poor people inhabiting Brazil, but are forgotten by books that tell the story of our country.
Over the past 50 years, the struggles of black women have intensified and their presence has increased on the national political scene. The black women’s organizations have an interaction between the feminist struggle and racial issues, allowing the incorporation of racism as a variable of inequalities, including among women.
The federal government has contributed to the strengthening of public policies for the black population, since the establishment of the Secretariat for Policies to Promote Racial Equality of the Presidency (SEPPIR) in 2003.
Source: Planalto
Articles you might like:
Day of Black Consciousness 2012: photos of festivities in cities throughout Brazil
Four powerful black women discuss racism, determination and professional success
Black women earn 58.3% of income of non-black men
Leave a Reply