This special issue of Diacrítica makes visible the presence of women as resilient creators of alternative aesthetic canons (literary and artistic), which actively challenge and unveil the status quo and hegemonic discourses in dictatorial contexts within Portugal and Portuguese speaking countries. Its articles reflect on how the dominant ideology marked female artistic practices and analyse different forms of resistance engendered by women. This publication is one of the outcomes of the project WOMANART, which is engaged in a transversal and interartistic reflection on the voices of women artists who actively challenged censorship, mutism and political repression from different generations, geographies and artistic practices and discourses.