Engendering democracy and rethinking law in Brazil

What happens when women insist on a place in a nation’s democratic future? In Brazil’s 1987–1988 Constituent Assembly, 26 women deputies answered that question through the “Lipstick Lobby” (Lobby do Batom), a cross-party alliance that helped shape the country’s new constitution. Drawing on the Jornal da Constituinte newsletter and accounts from participating activists, research by Thais Duarte Zappelini, a Brasillinois postdoctoral fellow, examines how these women parliamentarians built support among legislators and civil society. In addition to how their leadership helped redefine law, citizenship, and democracy in Brazil.

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