Regina Tavares da Silva is a Portuguese politician, feminist, historical researcher and an international expert on women's rights.
[1] Born in Vila de Rei in the centre of Portugal, Maria Regina Neves Xavier Amorim Tavares da Silva spent her first years in the city of Portalegre, then moving to Leiria when her father, a roads engineer, was transferred.
By this time, she had already met Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo who would later become, albeit briefly, the first female prime minister of Portugal.
Pintasilgo introduced her to the Juventude Universitária Católica Feminina (Female Catholic University Youth -JUCF) and Tavares da Silva became involved in its work, being Secretary-General, Vice-President and President-General.
1963 was an important year for the Women's Movement in the US as it is when Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique was published, which is often credited with sparking the second wave of American feminism in the 20th century.
Also in that year, a Presidential Commission created by John F. Kennedy published a report on the situation of women, which showed that discrimination based on sex was widespread in American society.
[2][3] Back in Lisbon, Tavares da Silva spent two years as a teacher, before going to the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom between 1965 and 1967, obtaining a Diploma in English Studies with a thesis on A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce.
[2][3] At the invitation of Lourdes Pintasilgo she worked at the Commission for Social Policy on Women, which had been created in September 1973, commuting between Coimbra and Lisbon.
The first World Conference on Women was held in June 1975 in Mexico City on the theme of "Equality, Development and Peace" and Tavares da Silva represented Portugal together with four others including Maria Alzira Lemos.
Standing in for Pintasilgo, who was unable to attend at the last minute, and with little experience of public speaking, Tavares da Silva delivered Portugal's address to the Plenary of 3000 people.
[2][3][4][5] Participation in the Mexico City conference also gave Tavares da Silva the opportunity to build up a collection of publications that she would use to establish the CCF Documentation Centre on women and equality.