Women of the resistance
Maria Isabel Barreno
1939–2016
Maria Isabel Barreno de Faria Martins
A writer and researcher, one of the “Three Marias”. Tried over “Novas Cartas Portuguesas” (New Portuguese Letters) and acquitted on 7 May 1974, she saw the greatest consequence of the case in the Constitution: equality for all, “without distinction of race, sex or religion”.
- Born
- 10 July 1939, Lisbon
- Died
- 3 September 2016
Biography
She was born in Lisbon on 10 July 1939, the daughter of a merchant navy captain and a housewife. She graduated in Historical and Philosophical Sciences from the Faculty of Letters in 1962 and was a researcher at the National Institute for Industrial Research, where she got to know the world of work and saw women “pushed into invisibility”. A cleaner in the department where she worked died while having her twenty-fourth home abortion.8
In 1970 she published Os Outros Legítimos Superiores (The Other Legitimate Superiors), in which she denounced the symbolic silence imposed on women.9 With Maria Teresa Horta and Maria Velho da Costa she wrote Novas Cartas Portuguesas (New Portuguese Letters), which Estúdios Cor published in April 1972 and the censors seized a few days later.5 The three were tried at the Boa-Hora Court from 25 October 1973, together with the publisher Romeu de Melo; Maria Lamas was a defence witness for Barreno.7 On 7 May 1974 they were acquitted, and Barreno’s lawyer, Duarte Vidal, told the Diário de Lisboa that the judiciary had been “dignified” by the verdict.4
Of 25 April, she remembered “being freed of a weight that was crushing us”. And for her the most important consequence of the trial, and of the international attention it brought, lay in the new Constitution: equal rights for all citizens, “without distinction of race, sex or religion”.8 She took part in founding the Women’s Liberation Movement, in 1974.6
She published novels, short stories and essays — A Morte da Mãe (The Mother’s Death), begun before the Novas Cartas, and Crónica do Tempo (Chronicle of Time), winner of the Fernando Namora Prize — and was managing editor of the magazine Marie Claire from 1990 to 1993.8 She died on 3 September 2016, aged 77.1
Places
Dates
1971
Maria Teresa Horta publishes “Minha Senhora de Mim” (My Lady of Myself)Apr 1972
The “Novas Cartas Portuguesas” (New Portuguese Letters) are published30 Dec 1972
The Capela do Rato vigil against the colonial warJun 1973
The Three Marias, the first international feminist cause25 Oct 1973
The trial of the Three Marias begins, behind closed doors1 Mar 1974
Maria Lamas, defence witness in the Three Marias trial7 May 1974
The “Three Marias” are acquitted7 May 1974
The Women’s Liberation Movement (MLM) is born
People
They crossed paths with her
Maria Teresa Horta
1937–2025 · poet
Maria Velho da Costa
1938–2020 · writer
Maria Lamas
1893–1983 · journalist
Natália Correia
1923–1993 · poet
Fernanda Botelho
1926–2007 · writer
Isabel do Carmo
b. 1940 · doctor
Videos
In other archives
These can only be viewed on each archive’s own website.
- Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa · Document · 25 October 1973«Novas Cartas Portuguesas» – Julgamento secretoA news item from the “Diário de Lisboa”: the judge declared closed the hearing in the trial of the authors and the publisher of “Novas Cartas Portuguesas” (“New Portuguese Letters”), which had begun that day at the Boa-Hora. Journalists and observers from the feminist movement and from PEN Club had to leave the courtroom.Open in the archive
- Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa · Document · May 1974As Três Marias foram absolvidasThe front page and the “Diário de Lisboa” report on the acquittal of the “Three Marias”: the judge declared that the book was neither pornographic nor immoral, and the writers wore red carnations on their chests. In the courtroom people shouted “Women united will never be defeated” (“Mulheres unidas jamais serão vencidas”).Open in the archive
- RTP Arquivos · Video · broadcast on 9 May 1974 · 12 minEntrevista às “Três Marias”Fialho Gouveia interviews Maria Teresa Horta, Maria Isabel Barreno and Maria Velho da Costa about the “Novas Cartas Portuguesas” (“New Portuguese Letters”) case. They discuss the book as a weapon for women’s liberation, the trial, the acquittal and the difficulty of getting it to more women readers.Open in the archive
- RTP Arquivos · Video · broadcast on 17 December 1980 · 26 minAngelina Vidal e a Mulher no JornalismoIn the series “Mulher a Mulher” (Woman to Woman), Maria Isabel Barreno introduces Angelina Vidal, with the façade of A Voz do Operário and the Rua Angelina Vidal street sign. Then, in the newsroom of the magazine “Mulheres” (Women), Maria Teresa Horta and Helena Neves talk about journalism made by women, and Maria Antónia Palla about the obstacles women journalists overcame.Open in the archive
Notes on the sources3
- The date of birth: 10 July 1939 (MDM, Wikipedia, Wikidata) or 7 October 1939 (Commemorative Commission for the 50th Anniversary of 25 April).
- The place of death: Observador mentions the cremation at the Olivais cemetery, without saying where she died.
- Whether she was at the MLM demonstration in Parque Eduardo VII on 13 January 1975 (the sources consulted name her as a founder of the movement, not as a demonstrator that day).
Do you know more, or do you have a document? Tell us.
Sources14
- 1Morreu Maria Isabel Barreno, feroz defensora dos direitos das mulheres (3/9/2016). Observador — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 2Mulheres pela Igualdade (biografias). CIG – Comissão para a Cidadania e a Igualdade de Género — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 3«Novas Cartas Portuguesas» – Julgamento secreto (Diário de Lisboa, 25/10/1973). Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa – Livros que foram notícia — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 4«As Três Marias foram absolvidas» / «Absolvição para as Novas Cartas Portuguesas» (Diário de Lisboa, 8 de maio de 1974). Hemeroteca Municipal de Lisboa – Livros que foram notícia — consulted on 2 October 2026O ficheiro da Hemeroteca chama-se «04Mai1974», mas a página diz que as «Novas Cartas Portuguesas» passaram «ontem» de tabu a «best-seller», e a absolvição foi a 7 de maio — é o número de 8 de maio.
- 5Novas Cartas Portuguesas. Comissão Comemorativa 50 Anos 25 de Abril — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 6Movimento de Libertação das Mulheres. Wikipédia (português) — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 7Maria Lamas, a ativista pelos direitos das mulheres (Virgínia Baptista, IHC – NOVA FCSH). RUN – Repositório da Universidade Nova de Lisboa — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 8Maria Isabel Barreno. MDM – Movimento Democrático de Mulheres — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 9Itinerário «Novas Cartas Portuguesas». Museu do Aljube Resistência e Liberdade — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 10“As três Marias foram absolvidas”. Museu do Aljube Resistência e Liberdade (EGEAC) — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 11Consulta SPARQL de identificadores e datas (P569/P570) de pessoas. Wikidata Query Service — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 12Processo “Novas Cartas Portuguesas”. Museu do Aljube Resistência e Liberdade (EGEAC) — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 13Maria Isabel Barreno. Wikipédia — consulted on 2 October 2026
- 14Novas Cartas Portuguesas. Wikipédia (ponto de partida) — consulted on 2 October 2026