A journalist, the daughter of Stella Piteira Santos, arrested by the PIDE in 1972 (and already in 1962, according to the CIG and Wikipedia). After 25 April, as managing editor, she gave “Modas e Bordados” a feminist line and invited Maria Lamas to be its honorary editor; in 1984 she wrote “Aborto, o crime está na lei” (Abortion, the crime is in the law).
Repressionjournalistfeministpolitical prisonermanaging editor of “Mulher – Modas e Bordados”biographer of Maria Lamas
She was born in Lisbon in 1942, the daughter of Stella Piteira Santos and Inácio Fiadeiro, both anti-fascists.3 She was studying Philosophy at the Faculty of Letters when, in the 1962 academic crisis, she supported the students on hunger strike in the Cidade Universitária canteen; according to the CIG and Wikipedia, it was for this that the PIDE arrested her for the first time.32 In 1972 she was arrested on her return from Brazil, where she had been living in exile.2 She was detained on 26 November, at the airport, and spent a month in Caxias — this is the first arrest that Memória Comum records for her.34
In 1974 she began writing for Modas e Bordados (Fashions and Embroidery), the supplement of O Século. As managing editor, she offered Maria Lamas the post of honorary editor, and the magazine was renamed Mulher – Modas e Bordados (Woman – Fashions and Embroidery), with a feminist editorial line. She also wrote for the “Mulher” (Woman) supplement of the Diário de Notícias and for the Diário de Lisboa, and was a member of the board of the Journalists’ Union in 1977–1978.2
She was a co-founder of the League for Women’s Rights and sat on the national board of the Family Planning Association. She advocated the decriminalisation of abortion and, in 1984, wrote Aborto, o crime está na lei (Abortion, the crime is in the law). In her thesis she recovered the biography of Maria Lamas, which was later published.2 She died on 31 March 2023.3
O ano de «Aborto, o crime está na lei»: 1984, segundo a CIG e a lista de obras da Wikipédia; a introdução da mesma Wikipédia diz 1978.
Se a redação de «Mulher – Modas e Bordados» ficava no edifício d'O Século em 1974–1975.
Que foi presa no aeroporto de Lisboa: a Wikipédia diz só «no aeroporto», e a CIG diz que foi presa em 1972, quando regressava do Brasil.
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Sources5
1Morreu a jornalista e ativista Maria Antónia Fiadeiro. Diário de Notícias (Lusa), 2023 — consulted on 4 October 2026«Nasceu em Lisboa, em 1942»; presa pela primeira vez pela PIDE na crise académica de 1962; exilada desde 1964 (Argélia, Paris, São Paulo); ao regressar, em 1972, voltou a ser detida e passou um mês em Caxias.
5Nota de pesar – Maria Antónia Fiadeiro. Partido Socialista, 2023 — consulted on 4 October 2026Morreu a 31 de março de 2023; chefe de redação de «Mulher – Modas e Bordados» em 1975; presa pela PIDE em 1962, quando estudava Filosofia, e um mês em Caxias depois de regressar do Brasil, em 1972.
