New book ‘by women, for women’ charts little known impact they had on Gibraltar’s history

A ‘GROUNDBREAKING’ new book charting the lives of 25 women who lived in Gibraltar hopes to reshape traditional views on the gender divide.

Caretaker Minister for Equality Samantha Sacramento said Women of Gibraltar, Forgotten Narratives would ‘lift women from Gibraltar’s past from obscurity’.

Chief Executive of the Gibraltar Heritage Trust Claire Montado wrote the book in its entirety with Beatrice Garcia providing illustrations.

The book spans much of the Rock’s history from Neanderthal times through the 16^th century and into the present time.

It features women who were either born in Gibraltar, worked or stayed there for a while, the government said in a statement.

The stories tell of women’s contributions to the city’s history and society which may have been overlooked at the time.

They chart the way individual women and institutions helped enhance the values of their societies and ‘offers inspiration to current and future generations’, the statement added.

Montado called the task of writing the book ‘a great privilege’ which wrote to ‘honour a small proportion of the women’ who played a part in Gibraltar’s history.

“The book is essentially a compilation of research and writings by many others who have had the foresight to record events, anecdotes and details,” the author said.

“Each story can be gone into in a great deal more depth, but it is hoped that this publication will function as a conversation starter or inspiration for the lives of many others to be committed to print.”

Sacramento said the ‘groundbreaking’ book aimed to ‘bring to light stories that may very well have otherwise been lost to the passage of time’.

She emphasized it is ‘a book by women, for women’ which made it even more significant in the present day.

“The history of Gibraltar has undoubtedly been shaped by women and men but very often traditional and official narratives have overlooked the contributions made by women,” the caretaker minister said.

“This book endeavours to redress that imbalance and to recognise the varied roles played by women in many spheres.”

It follows on from Sacramento’s fireside chat on International Women’s Day 2023 where she asked, ‘Where are the women of Gibraltar?’.

“I hope that this book goes some way to answer that question,” she added.

The event could be the last for Sacramento as she bowed out from frontline politics before this month’s election.

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