April 25th
"What is april 25th, after all?"
Our guests ask us with a curious and smiling face, which soon turns into an unbelieving one, when we explain that it was the "carnation revolution", "revolution without guns", "war without injured", etc ...
Nowadays, when the extreme right is gaining more and more stage across Europe, it is urgent to remember once again the gray times that Portugal lived before the 25th of April 1974.
Before the 25th of April, Portugal lived 41 years of dictatorship,
Before the 25th of April, women in Portugal could only vote if they had highschool education,
Before the 25th of April, women could not travel without permission from their husband or father,
Married women could not earn more than their husbands,
People were not allowed to speak or discuss ideas contrary to those of the government,
Associations or meetings of any kind were not allowed ...
Before April 25, schools were separated by sex,
Before April 25th there was no freedom of speech,
Books, music, and even drawings, were reviewed by the strict "blue pencil" of the censorship imposed by the Salazar government,
Before April 25, I could not write this article.
In this way, April 25 is known as the Day of Freedom in Portugal and the Day of the Carnation Revolution, being a national holiday where the importance of freedom in the country is remembered.
THANK YOU