Maria Domingas Alves

Maria Domingas Fernandes Alves (born 28 November 1959),[1] nickname Mana (sister) Micato[2]:62 [3] or Mikato,[4] resistance name Beta Mau,[5] is a women's rights activist, former resistance fighter, civil servant and non-party politician from East Timor. From 2007 to 2012 she was Minister of Social Solidarity.

Maria Domingas Fernandes Alves
Director, Office for the Promotion of Equality
In office
May 2002 – June 2006
Minister of Social Solidarity
In office
8 August 2007 – 8 August 2012
Succeeded byIsabel Guterres
Personal details
Born (1959-11-28) 28 November 1959
Laclo, Manatuto, Portuguese Timor
ProfessionWomen's rights activist,
civil servant

Early life

Alves was born in Laclo, Manatuto.[1][2]:62 Her father was chief of a sub-district in Portuguese Timor, and then a member of the parliament of Manatuto during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor.[2]:62 Alves attended the Liceu Dr. Francisco Machado, Dili.[2]:62 She is married to Jacinto Alves,[1] with whom she had four daughters and a son.[2]:62

Resistance careers

During the Indonesian occupation of East Timor (1975-1999), Alves was one of the main female leaders of the resistance movement, especially around Laclubar and Laclo.[2]:62 She participated actively in the Organização Popular de Mulheres Timorense (Popular Organisation of East Timorese Women) (OPMT), the women's organization of FRETILIN.[2]:63 [3][6] In 1978, Alves and her husband were arrested in the mountains and taken to Metinaro for interrogation.[1] They were released after about sixteen days, and sent to Dili,[1] where Alves worked as a civil servant in the Indonesian Industry and Trade Authority from 1983-1999.[2]:63 In 1997, she co-founded the women's rights organization Forum for Communication for East Timorese Women (FOKUPERS),[2]:63 [3][7][6] and campaigned for independence in the run-up to the 1999 East Timorese independence referendum.

Political career

In 2000, Alves organized the first National Women's Congress.[2]:63 In the interim government under United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), Alves became a gender equality adviser on September 30, 2001.[2]:63 The same year, Alves was selected by Rede Feto, a network of about 15 women’s organisations, to stand as an independent candidate in the first parliamentary elections,[2]:30,62 [8]:81 but she was not elected to the national parliament of East Timor.[2]:62 [3][8]:82 Instead, she became an adviser to the Prime Minister on promoting equality,[2]:63 [9][7] and in 2002, she was appointed director of the Office for the Promotion of Equality,[2]:63 [3][8]:84,163 a role she held until June 2006, when she was the first holder of public office to resign during the 2006 East Timorese crisis.[1][2]:63 In 2005, Alves was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her role in the independence movement and her work for the rights of women.[7] From May 2005 to 2007, Alves was an appointed member of the Council of State (Portuguese: Conselho de Estado), which advises the President of East Timor.[10]

From 8 August 2007 to 8 August 2012, Alves was Minister of Social Solidarity in the IV Government of East Timor, with Xanana Gusmão as president.[7][11] In 2012, under a new government, it was reportedly proposed that she would be appointed Minister of Defence and Security,[4] but according to press reports, President Taur Matan Ruak, who was a former military commander in chief of the army, opposed her appointment.[4][12] Alves allegedly rejected a return to her old ministerial post because of the "insult".[4] On October 23, 2012, Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão was finally sworn in as Minister of Defence.

Alves was appointed a commissioner of the Civil Service Commission (Comissão da Função Pública) on 29 May 2015.[13]

Awards

On November 28, 2006, Alves received from the government the Nicolau Lobato Order for her participation and contribution to the liberation of East Timor.[5]

Publications
  • c. 2004 - Written with blood, by Maria Domingas Fernandes Alves with Laura Soares Abrantes and Filomena B Reis. Dili : Office for Promotion of Equality. OCLC 938443638
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References
  1. See, Bridgette (January 2007). "Peace Activist". Timor Leste Now & The Future. Unicef Timor-Leste: 14–15. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  2. Ospina, Sofi; de Lima, Isabel (2006). Legge, Michele; Parkinson, Chris (eds.). Participation of Women in Politics and Decision Making in Timor-Leste: A Recent History (PDF). Dili, East Timor: United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM). Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  3. Gabrielson, Curt (1 February 2002). "East Timorese Women On Their Way Up" (PDF). ICWA Letters (CG-14). New Hampshire, US: Institute of Current World Affairs. p. 2. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  4. Gunter, Janet (9 August 2012). "East Timor: President Rejects Woman Defense Minister". Global Voices. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  5. "Decreto do Presidente da República Número 54/2006 Condecorações a atribuir aos Combatentes da Libertação Nacionala 28 de Novembro de 2006" (PDF). Jornal da República (in Portuguese). 1 (22): 1613. 22 November 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  6. UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (11 October 2001). "GOVERNMENT ADVISOR ON PROMOTION OF EQUALITY SWORN-IN". UNTAET Daily Briefing. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  7. Costa, Monica (2017). Gender Responsive Budgeting in Fragile States: The Case of Timor-Leste. Routledge. ISBN 9781315283074. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  8. Cristalis, Irena; Scott, Catherine; Andrade, Ximena (2005). Independent Women: The Story of Women's Activism in East Timor. CIIR. ISBN 9781852873172. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  9. "II UNTAET Transitional Government". Government of Timor Leste. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  10. "REPÚBLICA DEMOCRÁTICA DE TIMOR-LESTE PARLAMENTO NACIONAL RESOLUÇÃO DO PARLAMENTO NACIONAL NO. 7/2005" (PDF). Ministry of Justice, Government of Timor Leste (in Portuguese). 10 May 2005. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  11. "IV Constitutional Government". Government of Timor-Leste. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  12. Whittington, Sherrill (2015). "Women in Postconflict Decision-Making". In Baksh-Soodeen, Rawwida; Harcourt, Wendy (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Transnational Feminist Movements. Oxford University Press. p. 754. ISBN 9780199943494. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  13. "New team for the Civil Service Commission sworn into office". Government of Timor-Leste. 1 June 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
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