Organization of Angolan Women
The Organization of Angolan Women, established in 1962, was originally founded to rally support for the new political party known as the MPLA. Once Angola was officially independent of Portugal in 1975 following the Angolan War of Independence, the Organization of Angolan Women provided the best opportunity for female activism in local government. Total involvement faltered in the 1980s. In 1985 membership reached 1.8 million, but by 1987 membership dropped to less than 1.3 million. Rural violence and regional destabilization disheartened many of the rural members. However, it was also during the 1980s that Angola passed the first anti-discrimination laws and established strict literacy laws to support uneducated women.
Ruth Neto, the sister of the former president of Angola, was elected to be secretary general of the OMA and the head of its fifty-three-member national committee in 1983. She was re-elected on March 2, 1988.
The OMA expanded education for women, created programs to increase literacy among women, and during the 1980s the Angolan government created laws against gender discrimination in wages and working conditions.
