TIRANA, February 2 – Marigo Pozio is a historical figure most remembered, alongside Ismail Qemali, for Albania’s Independence Day. She was also an intellectual and a patriot.

Pozio was born on February 2, 1878, in Hoçisht, Korça. She studied at the First Primary School and at the Qiriazi Sisters’ School. She became a skilled embroiderer of national symbols and helped distribute Albanian primers and early books to other girls in Korça and surrounding areas.

During these years, she married merchant Jovan Pozio. For business reasons, the family moved to Vlora in 1904. There, she began her patriotic work, promoting Albanian education and strengthening national consciousness. In 1908, the “Labëria” Club [Labëria] was founded.

Pozio became an active member. The club served as a cultural society and a political-intellectual center, playing a key role in preparing the ground for Albania’s Declaration of Independence.

She also stood out as a pioneer of the women’s emancipation movement. In 1914, she founded the first women’s society in Vlora and led the newspaper “Shpresa Kombëtare” (National Hope). Through the newspaper, she highlighted the society’s activities, published educational articles, and encouraged women’s engagement in public life while defending their rights.

During the difficult war years, Marigo Pozio led humanitarian missions to support fighters and refugees, becoming a symbol of Albanian patriotism and humanitarianism.

She passed away in Tirana on February 23, 1932.

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