Zaida Fernández

Few names resonate in the annals of Spain's social memory like Zaida Fernández - a passionate sociologist whose story defied convention and reclaimed the silenced traces of women's histories. Born on 1984-12-06 in Bilbao (Biscay, Basque Country, Spain), she trained as a sociologist and earned a master's degree in Feminist and Gender Studies at the .

Driven by fierce conviction, she immersed herself since the early 2010s in curating participatory research: mapping what she called the "traces of women and feminism" across several Basque municipalities. Consequently, from 2015 onward she served as the coordinator of - the women's centre in Éibar - while actively participating in the and teaching at various empowerment schools.

Relentlessly energetic, she led groundbreaking community-based memory projects: in Basauri, Ondarroa, Ermua, Errenteria and Éibar she documented and published the often-forgotten industrial, social and cultural roles women held. Her work restored dignity to lives erased by patriarchal amnesia, and she co-authored key publications such as Sin las mujeres, Eibar no sería lo que es. Huellas de las mujeres en el proceso de industrialización de Eibar (2014-2016) and contributed to collective volumes on memory, gender and history.

Moreover, through her writing - for example in journalistic venues like - she extended her reach beyond academia: in 2022 she published Buscando las huellas de las mujeres mayores, blending sociological insight with feminist narrative to challenge collective oblivion.

Intensely committed, she navigated social, creative, and ethical complexities with resilience: securing testimonies, designing participatory methodologies, persuading local institutions, and weaving memory into public space. Her efforts redefined what counts as historical record and reimagined collective memory itself.

In retrospect, Zaida Fernández's career was a masterclass in courageous sociological vision, forever altering our understanding of gender, memory and collective identity.