Lucileide Mafra Reis: “We need more women to participate and expand their knowledge about their rights, so that we can achieve the valorization and recognition of care”

^{Lucileide took at least five years to mobilize other domestic workers to join a union. UN Women/Lali Mareco}

Since its inception in May 2022, the Ver-o-Cuidado project, developed in partnership by UN Women and the Municipality of Belém, with funding from the Open Society Foundations, has been engaging with the city’s civil society to establish a pilot Municipal System of Care for the municipality as a whole.

The project seeks to strengthen organizations representing different groups of citizens. Throughout this process, UN Women accompanies actions developed by civil society and local governments to put caregivers at the center of public policies.

The project conducted dialogues to listen to the demands of civil society and advance its implementation actions.  

In approximately three years, more than 300 caregivers, both paid and unpaid, received training to learn about their rights, recognize the value of their work, and advocate for improved care policies. In addition, 70 civil servants were trained in the design of care policies.

As a result of an articulation between the Ver-o-Cuidado project and the National Secretariat of Care and Family of the Ministry of Development and Social Assistance, the residents of three islands of Belém contributed to the process of building the National Care Policy, led by the federal government.  

Women’s empowerment, in recognition of the impact of the care agenda, transformed not only their private lives but also society as a whole. Added to this is the mobilization for political advocacy, among other milestones that Ver-o-Cuidado has achieved in the Belém community.

Through participation in approximately 15 round tables with women from different territorial, socio-cultural, organizational, and other intersectional backgrounds, the project was not only presented to the local population but also invited to collaborate in the design of a Municipal Care System in Belém. 

^{Lucileide (in blue blouse) during training on care promotion facilitated by UN Women. UN Women/Lali Mareco}

Strengthening leadership and promoting spaces for advocacy

This is how, spontaneously, after a pilot training to strengthen advocacy capacities for the design and implementation of municipal care systems, carried out in 2023 by Ver-o-Cuidado, representatives of organized civil society began to mobilize to create the Care Activists Network.

Formed by 11 civil society organizations, the Care Activists Network aims to organize mobilization in support of the care needs and priorities of women in Belém during the public policy design process.

“They are women from different centers, representatives of both the social movement and the trade union movement, united to strengthen the discussion of both the right of people to care and the right of care workers, understanding that we can do more when we are together, adding our voices,” explains Lucileide Mafra Reis, president of the Federation of Domestic Workers of the Amazon Region (FETRADORAM). 

^{In May 2024, part of the Care Activists Network met at the UN Office in Belém to discuss calls for proposals on strengthening civil society organizations. UN Women/Lali Mareco}

Representation as a necessity 

Daughter of rural workers, Lucileide Mafra Reis faced numerous obstacles from a very young age that marked her life, such as having to move from one city to another and waiting until she was 15 years old to begin her studies. “I come from a family of nine siblings, with a rigorous upbringing. My father did not allow women to study,” says Lucileide.  

As a teenager, Lucileide was sent to the urban center of Maranhão and forced to work without pay, where she did housework in the house where her brother lived with 15 other people. At her young age, Lucileide survived situations of exploitation and violence at the hands of a family who also lived in the house and delegated domestic chores to her.

To survive, Lucileide often had to rely on the generosity of those she encountered. Informality and allegations of violence in domestic work accompanied her for many years. “I said that from that moment on, neither I nor anyone else would have to be humiliated like that,” says Lucileide.

A personal motivation led Lucileide to become an activist. “I spent at least five years trying to organize the domestic workers in the building where I worked to create the union. The union emerged from the need for representation. We were paid whatever the employers saw fit. The union sought to organize and represent the category in all forums,” explains Lucileide. 

Care at the center of the defense of workers’ rights and the creation of public policies

This is how Lucileide became an advocate for the rights of domestic workers in Brazil, particularly those working in the Amazon region. It is estimated that there are around 5.8 million domestic workers in Brazil. For the past seven years, Lucileide has presided over the Federation of Domestic Workers of the Amazon Region (FETRADORAM) and also founded the Union of Domestic Workers of the State of Pará, which is now called the Union of Domestic Workers, Housekeepers and Waitresses of the Municipalities of Belém and Ananindeua (SINTDACP).

Lucileide participated in the Ver-o-Cuidado project, which led to the establishment of the Care Activists Network. As a result of her work, she successfully mobilized and promoted the defense of domestic workers’ rights. The network brings together thirteen representatives of civil society organizations committed to creating public care policies in the capital of Pará.

“My work had never been valued, and we still have difficulties in getting care recognized as something fundamental and dignified, but through the project, we have strengthened our voice and our vote by being represented in spaces of political construction. After participating in the project, I feel better prepared to participate in this debate,” says Lucileide.

“It was a new experience, and every new experience changes us. Ver-o-Cuidado opened up a range of opportunities, experiences, and learning that have strengthened my struggle for the rights of domestic workers,” says Lucileide.  

“The more we learn about this work, the stronger we become. We need more women to participate and expand their knowledge about their rights, so that we can achieve the valorization and recognition of care,” says the activist.