Mariola Summerfield (1927 – February 17, 2021) was a women's rights activist in Gibraltar. A co-founder and longtime chairperson of the Gibraltar Women's Association, she fought for women's legal rights and economic empowerment beginning in the postwar period.
Early life
editMariola Summerfield was born in Gibraltar in 1927.[1] As a child, she was part of the mass evacuation of the Gibraltarian civilian population during World War II, relocating to Casablanca, Rabat, and London with her family.[1][2]
Activism
editSummerfield returned to Gibraltar after the war, and in 1966 she co-founded the Housewives' Association alongside Angela Smith. The women's rights organization, originally conceived of as a meeting of all the housewives in Gibraltar, became known as the Gibraltar Women's Association in the early 1980s.[1][3]
After initially serving as the organization's vice chair, she went on to lead the association for two decades, from 1969 to 1989, fighting for equal rights for Gibraltarian women.[1][3][4] After stepping down, she continued as "life honorary president" until her death.[3][5]
In its early years, the Housewives' Association opposed encroachment by the Franco dictatorship and played a prominent role in the community's response to his closure of the border with Spain in 1969. Summerfield helped encourage women to take the jobs previously held by Spaniards who could no longer cross the border.[1][5][6][7] The organization also worked to improve quality of life for Gibraltarian families, including through running a fruit and vegetable cooperative. In the 1970s, Summerfield led the association in successfully pushing to change a number of laws affecting women in Gibraltar, including those dealing with equal pay, divorce, and women's role in the judicial system.[5] As women's participation in civic life expanded in Gibraltar, she herself became the territory's first female juror.[8]
In 2007, Summerfield published a memoir titled A Woman's Place: Memoirs of a Gibraltarian woman — a "Llanita."[1][8][9][10] A member of the Order of the British Empire, she was also awarded a Gibraltar Medallion of Honour in 2015.[8][9][11]
Death and legacy
editSummerfield died in 2021 at age 93.[1][2][12] On her death, Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo described her as a "national treasure."[1][6][13]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h "Mariola Summerfield, champion of women's rights, dies at 93". Gibraltar Chronicle. 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ a b "Mariola Summerfield's Passing Away". The Gibraltar Magazine. 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ a b c "Founders". Gibraltar Women's Association. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ "La Asociación de Mujeres de Gibraltar cumple 50 años". InfoGibraltar (in Spanish). 2016-03-22. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ a b c Cartwright, Richard (2016-04-10). "50 Years of the Gibraltar Women's Association: Interview with Mariola Summerfield". Globe Magazine. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ a b "Local campaigner Mariola Summerfield dies aged 93". GBC News. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ "Fallece Mariola Summerfield, fundadora de la Asociación de Amas de Casa de Gibraltar". Noticias Gibraltar (in European Spanish). 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ a b c Smith, Charlie (2018-10-29). "Two taxi drivers suspended in Gibraltar after 93-year-old disabled woman 'left screaming in agony'". Olive Press News Spain. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ a b "Sisters are doing it for themselves: 50 years of girl power celebrated in Gibraltar". Postcard from Gibraltar. 2016-02-20. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ Bordering on Britishness : national identity in Gibraltar from the Spanish Civil War to Brexit. Andrew Canessa. Cham, Switzerland. 2019. ISBN 978-3-319-99310-2. OCLC 1079363276.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "48 members of the community presented with Medallions of Honour and Distinction". GBC News. 2015-09-15. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ "Fallecimiento de Mariola Summerfield". InfoGibraltar (in Spanish). 2021-02-18. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
- ^ Bartlett, Debbie (2021-02-19). "Tributes paid to one of Gib's 'national treasures'". Sur in English. Retrieved 2021-04-19.