Emilienne Brunfaut, born Emilienne Steux (1908-1986), was a Belgian socialist trade union
leader. She was born in a worker's family and lost her mother at the age of five.
Her father was a militant labourer and she followed in his footsteps.
In 1924 she married. After her first
child died the couple divorced. In 1927 Steux
became the secretary of the Textile Syndicate of which her father was the
president. A few years later she participated in the general strikes (1932) and
against the Rutten-proposal that would limit the
participation of women in labour (1934).
She became the first female Belgian delegate to a conference of the
International Labour Organization (1935) on behalf of the textile workers. In
After the war she remained active for the feminist
cause, becoming co-founder of the Rassemblement des
Femmes pour la Paix (1947).
Brunfaut was present at the first Belgian Women's Day in 1972, talking about the
working conditions of women. In 1975 she became the French speaking president
of the Belgian National Committee for International Women's Year, together with
the Dutch speaking Lucienne Heman-Michielsens.
Stamp catalogue
Belgium
last revised: 27 February 2010