Amelinha Teles

Amelinha Teles
Teles in 2023
Born
Maria Amélia de Almeida Teles

(1944-10-06)6 October 1944
Contagem, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Died15 September 2026(2026-09-15) (aged 81)
São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
OccupationsJournalist, writer, human rights activist

Maria Amélia de Almeida "Amelinha" Teles (6 October 1944 – 15 September 2026) was a Brazilian journalist, writer and human rights activist. She was a militant of the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) against the military dictatorship, which led to her arrest and torture by the DOI-CODI. From then on, she was one of the main voices denouncing the abuses suffered during the regime.

Teles developed work in historical feminist activism. She was director of the São Paulo Women's Union, coordinator of the Popular Legal Promoters Project, a member of the Advisory Council of the Dandara Center, and author of several books on the subject. She also served on the Commission of Relatives of the Dead and Disappeared for Political Reasons and was an advisor to the São Paulo State Truth Commission "Rubens Paiva".

Life and career

Background

Maria Amélia de Almeida Teles was born in the city of Contagem, Minas Gerais, on 6 October 1944. Her political activism began in 1960, when she joined the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) at a young age, influenced by her father. Alongside her younger sister Criméia, she was arrested in 1964 shortly after the 1964 coup d'état at the Barro Preto Barracks in the Minas Gerais capital, where they were detained for two nights accused of subversion.

The sisters had been living in hiding since 1965, and an internal split in the PCB in 1968 led them to join the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB). Married to César Teles, Teles managed a printing press and helped produce the party's newspaper.

Teles was arrested on 28 December 1972, and taken to Operation Bandeirantes (Oban), where she was subjected to torture sessions, which, according to her testimony, were carried out personally by Army Major Carlos Alberto Brilhante Ustra, then commander of the DOI-CODI in São Paulo. Her husband, César Augusto Teles, and her fellow activist, Carlos Nicolau Danielli, were also taken to the repressive agency, where Teles witnessed Danielli's murder. Her children, Edson and Janaína, aged 4 and 5, were also kidnapped and taken to Oban, where they saw their parents being tortured. The justification for her arrest was her participation in running a clandestine printing press for the PCdoB, according to Ustra's own autobiography.

Teles was 27 years old when she was arrested and tortured. She reported the horrors experienced during the Brazilian military dictatorship, exposed Ustra, and assisted families of the disappeared through the Truth Commission. Her sister Crimeia participated in the Araguaia Guerrilla, was also in her apartment, and was taken to the DOI-CODI along with her, eight months pregnant at the time. Through letters, she was Teles' only contact during her year and a half imprisonment in the DOI-CODI for her relations with the Communist Party of Brazil. Crimeia was released before Teles and became her source of information outside the prison. Carlos Nicolau, however, was not so lucky: tortured along with Amelia, he was murdered in front of her. In addition, she was also raped, later stating to the National Truth Commission that this was a systematic policy.

In 2005, the Teles family filed a declaratory action against Carlos Brilhante Ustra, who in 2008 became the first agent of the dictatorship to be declared a torturer. In March 2013, Teles testified before the National Truth Commission, a federal government body that operated between 2011 and 2014 to investigate serious human rights violations that occurred between 1946 and 1988. In her testimony, Teles stated that she had been a victim of various forms of torture, including electric shocks and sexual violence. In December 2014, the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) held Ustra responsible for the torture suffered by her, her husband, her two children (Edson Luiz and Janaína), and her sister Criméia Alice Schmidt de Almeida inside the DOI-CODI. Ustra was recognized as a torturer in the first instance in 2008 by Judge Gustavo Santini Teodoro of the 23rd Civil Court of São Paulo. The decision was confirmed by the Court of Justice of São Paulo in 2012. There is no mention in these judicial decisions of murders committed by Teles.

Activism for women's rights

In 1984, she founded the São Paulo Women's Union, and in 1987 and 1988 she participated in the Lipstick Lobby, an effort by feminists across the country to pressure parliamentarians to include advancements in the Constitution they were drafting. The Lipstick Lobby succeeded in getting 80% of women's demands approved to expand civil, economic, and social rights. For the first time, a constitution explicitly stated in its Article 5 that men and women are equal.

It was also during her time as an activist in the PCdoB that Teles said she understood herself to be a feminist. Upon encountering works such as those of the African-American activist and philosopher Angela Davis, she solidified her position, understanding her place in the movement. Around the same time that the UN General Assembly declared 1975 as the International Women's Year, Teles began writing for the Jornal Brasil Mulher, one of the first newspapers aimed at and produced by women.

Teles spearheaded the launch, in 1994, of the Popular Legal Promoters (PLPs) project, which provides legal training for women and teaches them to value the law, expand it, and learn the path to access justice. The course involves weekly meetings for one year, is taught at the City Hall, and broadcast online. They visit women's prisons in São Paulo and Campinas, and currently the training takes place in several cities across the country. In the state of São Paulo alone, more than 5,000 women from 25 municipalities have been trained.

She authored numerous articles and books on feminism and women's rights, including A Brief History of Feminism in Brazil, What is Violence Against Women, co-authored with Mônica de Melo, and What are women's human rights?, all published by Ed. Brasiliense. In 2024, she published Tales from Cell Three: Memoirs of a political prisoner during the dictatorship, her first work of fiction, in which she revisits an imaginary character created during her time in prison, the Talkative Lizard of Nascimento, using fictional narrative to address themes such as authoritarianism, political violence and resistance. Her feminist activism began in prison, working with women activists, former political prisoners or not, who spoke about feminism, sexuality and equal rights, issues that were and are part of her political work. In 2004, she was awarded the Carlota Pereira de Queiroz Prize, granted by the Chamber of Deputies on the occasion of the International Women's Day celebrations.

In 2018, Teles participated as a finalist in the Viva Award, promoted by Marie Claire magazine and the Avon Institute, in the civil society category of the debate "Origins of Feminist Movements and Theories", alongside Adriana Piscitelli, anthropologist and professor at Unicamp, in São Paulo, with mediation by Regiany Silva de Freitas, co-founder of Nós Mulheres da Periferia, an independent journalistic collective.

In 2026, Teles was honored by the Parliamentary Front for the Defense of Life and Protection of Women and Girls of the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo at the ceremony 'Women Who Move History', which recognized female personalities in the areas of health, entrepreneurship, science, art and activism for their contribution to the promotion of gender equality and the defense of women's rights.

Death

Teles died on 15 September 2026, at the age of 81.

Awards

Bibliography

Selected works:

References

  1. 1 2 Helena Borges (10 June 2018). "1968: Mulheres que lutaram contra a ditadura e contra o machismo" (in Portuguese). O Globo. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Entrevista Maria Amélia de Almeida Teles" (in Portuguese). Centro Dandara. 12 November 2010. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "Unifesp lamenta o falecimento de Amelinha Teles, doutora honoris causa da Universidade" (in Portuguese). Federal University of São Paulo. 15 September 2026.
  4. ↑ "Maria Amélia de Almeida Teles" (in Portuguese). Memorial da Resistência de São Paulo. Archived from the original on 13 January 2026. Retrieved 8 April 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Patrícia Zaidan; Iracy Paulina (18 November 2018). "Amelinha Teles batalha pela ampliação de todos os direitos das mulheres" (in Portuguese). Revista Marie Calire. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Maria Amélia de Almeida Teles". Memórias da Ditadura. Archived from the original on 12 October 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  7. ↑ ""Levaram os meus filhos para me ver sendo torturada", conta Amelinha, vítima de Ustra" (in Portuguese). Revista Fórum. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  8. ↑ Leandro Resende (23 October 2018). "[Agência Lupa] #Verificamos: Amelinha Teles não 'matou e esquartejou militares'" (in Portuguese). Agência Lupa. Archived from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  9. ↑ André Nogueira (11 December 2019). "Torturada na frente dos próprios filhos, Amelinha Telles deu fim a impunidade de Carlos Brilhante Ustra" (in Portuguese). Aerventuras na História. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  10. 1 2 Marli Popolin (21 May 2019). "Aula aberta na FDSBC aborda mulheres e ditadura" (in Portuguese). Portal ABC do ABC. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  11. ↑ Pedro Willmersdorf (19 April 2016). "Torturada por Ustra na ditadura repudia discurso de Bolsonaro: 'Deveria ser punido'" (in Portuguese). Extra. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  12. ↑ Evandro Éboli (13 July 2020). "Mulheres que enfrentaram a ditadura relatam em lives tortura do período" (in Portuguese). VEJA. Archived from the original on 16 September 2026. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  13. ↑ Isabella D'Ercole (8 March 2018). "Amelinha Teles: "Refletir sobre o cotidiano nos faz feministas"" (in Portuguese). CLAUDIA. Archived from the original on 5 December 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  14. ↑ "Festival discute feminismo em Encontros Gratuitos" (in Portuguese). Revista Marie Claire. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  15. ↑ "Projeto Promotoras Legais Populares" (in Portuguese). Geledés. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
  16. ↑ "Amelinha Teles lança Contos da Cela Três em Porto Alegre". Brasil de Fato (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2 December 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Ato solene na Alesp reconhece mulheres que 'movem a história de São Paulo'". www.al.sp.gov.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 16 September 2026. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "Morre Amelinha Teles, uma das vítimas da ditadura militar, aos 81 anos". UOL. 15 September 2026. Archived from the original on 15 September 2026. Retrieved 15 September 2026.
  19. ↑ "Viva Maria recebe o Troféu Rede Equidade". Agência Brasil (in Brazilian Portuguese). 10 December 2025. Archived from the original on 5 June 2026. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  20. ↑ "Maria Amélia De Almeida Teles". Wook. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
  21. ↑ Teles, Maria Amélia de Almeida (2017). Breve história do feminismo no Brasil e outros ensaios. São Paulo, SP. OCLC 1003295156.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  22. ↑ Teles, Maria Amélia de Almeida (2002). Editora Brasiliense (ed.). O que é violência contra a mulher (1st ed.). São Paulo. OCLC 62324111.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  23. ↑ Almeida., Teles, Maria Amélia de (2007). Editora Brasiliense (ed.). O que são direitos humanos das mulheres. OCLC 181902704.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ↑ Teles, Maria Amélia de Almeida (29 June 2024). Ema Livros (ed.). Contos da Cela Três: Memórias de uma presa política na ditadura (in Brazilian Portuguese). São Paulo, SP. ISBN 978-85-67695-16-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)