A Carta que elas escreveram: a participação das mulheres no processo de elaboração da Constituição Federal de 1988

Abstract

Brazil’s constitutional historiograpy, as well as the national legal and political literature, even though it has recorded and analyzed important aspects of the latest Brazilian constitutional process, completely ignored the contribution of women in the discussions that led to the expansion of citizenship rights and the subsequent constitutionalization of women rights in this country. The absence of that knowledge contributes to the so-called gender blindness in legal and political worlds of this nation which, in turn, contribute to maintaining the status quo, where the hegemonic view, that pretends to be neutral and universal, promotes exclusion, oppression and gender inequalityin our society. Aiming to fill this gap, this thesis, which is based on extensive archival research and in-depth interviews, presents a scientifically structured narrative, about the specifics of women's participation in the process of making the current Federal Constitution, and in the light of the Feminist Theory (of Law) not only analyses the facts, but proposes the inclusion of a gender perspective in the national judicial and political teaching and practice, starting with the constitutional field, as the cornerstone of the legal state.