The radical political imagination of Black Brazilian women: models of resistance

Overview

Even though significant progress has been made in advancing women’s rights since the Fourth World Conference on Women, the issue of gender-based political violence – particularly as it affects Black women – was not sufficiently prioritised in the Declaration and Platform for Action adopted in Beijing, in 1995. This work analyses the resolutions and political declarations issued by the Commission on the Status of Women over a five-year period between 1995 and 2025, aiming to assess the extent to which this issue has been addressed in proposed revisions to the Platform. In Brazil, even three decades after the Beijing Conference, despite notable advancements in affirmative action, care policies, and rights-based initiatives, Black women continue to be markedly under-represented and subjected to high levels of violence in institutional politics, with representation levels nearly five times lower than would be expected based on their share of the national population. The political trajectory of current Brazilian Federal Deputy Benedita da Silva – elected in 1986 as the first Black Brazilian woman to serve as a federal deputy – is presented in this study as an example of a radical political imagination that confronts the persistence of gender- and race-based political violence and advocates for a more feminist and equitable future for Black Brazilian women. Drawing on an analysis of official documents related to the review and evaluation of the Beijing Platform for Action, this paper aims to stimulate international debate on the urgency and relevance of tackling gender and race-based political violence, urging its integration into the core priorities for the Platform’s implementation.