In the 1970s, there was a movement of women who considered organising a movement independent of political parties. In April 1971, Marina Busignani Reffi founded the Comitato per l'emancipazione della donna sammarinese (Committee for the Emancipation of San Marino Women), which was made up of Busignani Reffi, Graziella Rossini, Luciana Franchini and Emma Rossi. Their initial demands included the possibility of holding public and civil offices, equal pay, pensions for housewives, etc. The Captains Regent accepted passive suffrage for women and legal and social emancipation, but after months without any measures being implemented and a political crisis, the Committee managed to form a Commission at the Grand and General Council to study the demands. They achieved measures such as pensions for housewives, legal and social emancipation, passive suffrage and more property rights for widows with the 1973 Law 10 September, no. 29, "Equal rights for women".[3][4]
Starting in 1972, the Committee began to evolve towards a more organised structure, and the UDS itself considers that year to be its founding year. The first directive council was formed in 1974 and obtained legal recognition from the Council of Twelves in October 1975.[3]
The Union promoted the 1982 referendum to amend the citizenship law to repeal the provision whereby women lose their nationality when they marry a foreigner and the 1986 reformal of the family law to include measures proposed by the Union.[4]
Between 1987 and 2019, the Union ceased to be active. On 14 September 2019, they announced the resumption of their activities on the initiative of Karen Pruccoli, whom was its president between 2020 and 2023.[5][6][7][8][9] They presented the recovery and the new project on 17 September.[8]
It was formally recognised as an association in 2020.[7]
Under the leadership of Pruccoli, the UDS led the "Yes" campaign of the 2021 referendum that legalised the abortion.[10][11][12] The referendum question was published on 15 March 2021, after the RETE Movement and the Union of Sammarinese Women collected enough signatures.[13][14][15][16]
