Amelinha Teles, Brazilian feminist and anti-dictatorship activist, dies at 81

Maria Amélia de Almeida Teles, known as Amelinha Teles, a prominent Brazilian feminist, journalist, and human rights activist, has died at the age of 81.

A historic figure of resistance against the Brazilian military dictatorship, Teles was a member of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB). In 1972, she was arrested and subjected to torture at the DOI-CODI in São Paulo under the command of Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra. During this period, her husband, César Augusto Teles, was also imprisoned, and her two young children were kidnapped and forced to witness the violence against their parents.

Following the return to democracy, Teles dedicated her life to the pursuit of truth, memory, and justice. She was a key figure in the movement for the accountability of state agents and worked with the Commission of Families of the Dead and Disappeared Political Prisoners.

In the feminist movement, she co-founded the Union of Women of São Paulo in 1981 and coordinated the Popular Legal Promoters project, which provided legal training to women. Her literary works, including ‘Contos da Cela Três’, documented her experiences of political imprisonment and resistance.