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Sara Beirão (1880 - 1974) was a Portuguese writer, journalist, women's rights activist and philanthropist. As an author, she is particularly known for fiction aimed at children and youth and for her work as publisher and editor of the '' Alma feminina'' feminist magazine.


Early years

Sarah de Vasconcelos Carvalho Beirão (she used "Sara" professionally) was born on 30 July 1880, in
Tábua Tábua (), officially the Town of Tábua (, is a town and municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. In 2021 it had 11,160 inhabitants, in an area of . The town of Tábua is contained within a civil parish with 3,681 inhabitants as of 2021. ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. She was the daughter of Maria José da Costa Mathias and Doctor Francisco de Vasconcellos Carvalho Beirão. She studied in
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
, receiving an education available to very few girls at that time, and began working for newspapers at the age of 18, namely for the periodical ''O Tabuense'', founded by her father, as well as for newspapers in
Beira Alta Province Beira Alta Province (; "Upper Beira") was a Portuguese province in the north of Portugal. Vast plateaus, river valleys, mountains, and castles abound in Beira Alta. Formerly it was part of the Beira Province. The two main cities were Guarda ...
and for the magazine ''Humanidade'', using the male the pseudonym of Álvaro de Vasconcelos.


Activism

In May 1909, Beirão became actively involved in the Republican cause, assisting in the organization at the first republican rally held in Tábua, and taking part in the inauguration of the Centro Republicano Tabuense, chaired by her father. Republicans in Portugal at that time were aiming to substitute the
Constitutional Monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
by a
Republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...
. In the same month, she joined the Portuguese League of Peace, which emphasised the achievement of peace through the efforts of women, as well as the Republican League of Portuguese Women, becoming president of the Tábua branch. In 1910, Beirão married António da Costa Carvalho. The couple moved to the Portuguese capital
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
in 1928, where she joined the “Group of Thirteen” (''Grupo das Treze''), a women’s organization that aimed to combat the ignorance and superstition, dogmatism and religious conservatism that existed in Portuguese society and that prevented women’s emancipation. She also joined the '' Conselho Nacional das Mulheres Portuguesas'' (National Council of Portuguese Women), founded by activist doctor
Adelaide Cabete file:Adelaide Cabete.jpg, Adelaide Cabete Adelaide Cabete (25 January 1867, Elvas – 14 September 1935), was one of the main Portuguese feminists of the 20th century. A staunch Republican, she was an obstetrician, gynecologist, teacher, Freemas ...
in 1914. Beirão was to become president on the death of Cabete and held the position from 1935 to 1941, being honorary president in 1942. In addition to her activism in the defence of women's rights and gender equality, Beirão was also a philanthropist, focusing on helping the most disadvantaged children and the elderly. The Sarah Beirão and António Costa Carvalho Foundation was created in 1964, to operate a care home in Tábua for retired artists and writers of both sexes. This was mainly for long-term residents with physical or economic difficulties and was housed in an 18th century manor house, home of Beirão's grandparents and her birthplace. It currently supports around 100 residents and day-care patients.


Writing

In literature, Sara Beirão wrote mostly fiction, for both adults and children. As one of the most successful Portuguese writers during the 20th century, she published 16 books, including two collections of short stories. Her works were represented at the “Exhibition of Books Written by Women” organized by Maria Lamas and the ''Conselho Nacional das Mulheres Portuguesas'' in 1947. This brought together three thousand books by 1400 women authors from thirty countries, and filled the Great Hall of Fine Arts at the
University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...
. She contributed to several newspapers and magazines, such as '' O Primeiro de Janeiro'' in Porto, '' Diário de Coimbra'' in
Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...
, and ''
Jornal de Notícias (; ; shortened to JN) is a Portuguese daily national newspaper, one of the oldest in Portugal. History and profile ''JN'' was founded in Porto and was first published on 21 June 1888. It was one of two Portuguese newspapers published in Angol ...
'' and ''
Diário de Notícias () is a Portuguese weekly newspaper published in Lisbon, Portugal. Established since 1864, the paper is considered a newspaper of record for Portugal. History and profile ''Diário de Notícias'' was first published in Lisbon on 29 December 1 ...
'' in Lisbon, as well as for the Brazilian print media. Her articles and regular columns were usually targeted at women. From the mid-1930s she was Director and Editor of, and regular contributor to, ''Alma Feminina'' magazine, published by the ''Conselho Nacional das Mulheres Portuguesas'' until that organization was closed by the authoritarian '' Estado Novo'' regime in 1947. Many of its articles were dedicated to Portuguese feminists such as Adelaide Cabete,
Ana de Castro Osório Ana de Castro Osório (18 June 1872 – 23 March 1935) was a Portuguese feminist, active in the field of children's literature and political Republicanism. Early life Osório was born into a well-off family on 18 June 1872, her mother being Ma ...
, and
Elina Guimarães Elina Guimarães (1904-1991) was a writer and feminist leader in Portugal during the middle of the 20th century. Early life Elina Júlia Chaves Pereira Guimarães was born on 8 August 1904 in Lisbon, the only daughter of Alice Pereira Guimarãe ...
and well as those from outside Portugal, such as Avril de Sainte-Croix,
Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860May 21, 1935) was an American Settlement movement, settlement activist, Social reform, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, philosopher, and author. She was a leader in the history of s ...
, and
Simone de Beauvoir Simone Lucie Ernestine Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir (, ; ; 9 January 1908 – 14 April 1986) was a French existentialist philosopher, writer, social theorist, and feminist activist. Though she did not consider herself a philosopher, nor was she ...
. Beirão died in Tábua, on 21 May 1974, at the age of 93. She is remembered in that city by a public garden (''Jardim Sarah Beirão'') and streets have been named after her in several other locations.


List of publications

Books published by Sara Beirão are listed below. *''Serões da Beira'' (1929); *''Cenas Portuguesas'' (1930); *''Amores no Campo'' (1931); *''Raul'' (1934); *''Os Fidalgos da Torre'' (1936); *''O Solar da Boa Vista'' (1937) *''Clara'' (1939) *''Sozinha'' (1940); *''Surpresa Bendita'' (1941); *''Alvorada'' (1943); *''Prometida'' (1944); *''Triunfo'' (1950s); *''Manuel Vai Correr Mundo'' (1950s); *''Um Divórcio'' (1950); *''Destinos'' (1955); *''A Luta'' (1972).


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beirao, Sara 1880 births 1974 deaths Portuguese writers Portuguese women writers Portuguese feminists People from Tábua