When Redes da Maré was founded in 2007, the people who participated in this process talked about the importance of the name of the institution. There were many suggestions, hours and days were spent until a name was chosen that would please the majority. It was necessary to have a name that symbolized the mission of the new institution: to contribute to the construction of public policies for Maré, to produce knowledge and to create network actions.
However, the foundation date was not discussed: it would have to be on March 8th. Redes da Maré had to be born on the International Women's Day, because its history of constitution, that is, the movements that led to its creation, was closely linked to the struggle of women.
This symbolic date represents much more than just a fair tribute to women. In fact, it represents the recognition that Redes da Maré was born out of social and rights struggles from the intense mobilization and leadership of women, such as Maria Amélia Belfort, Eliana Sousa, Helena Edir and so many others that marked the history of Maré.
In a recent survey, we found that 68% of the people who work on the projects and participate in the Institution's actions are women. In addition, more than 80% of the institution's leadership positions are held by women. However, although this majority of women means an advance, this fact does not resolve the issues that structure the unequal gender relations present in Brazilian society and that permeate all institutions, including Redes da Maré itself.
In this sense, reflecting on the meaning of March 8 for Redes is of fundamental importance. Above all, when we know that the women of Maré and the favelas are the ones who face the most difficulties in their daily lives. They are the ones who have less economic resources and suffer from prejudice, racism, sexism, lesbophobia, and face all the social, religious and cultural barriers that stand in the way of the right to fully exercise their freedom.
When we think about these issues in the context of Brazilian society, we recognize that we still have a long way to go in terms of guaranteeing women's rights. The increase in femicide - when murder occurs because the victim is a woman -, for example, is a proof of how much we need to move forward.
Even with a greater protection under the Maria da Penha Law, studies such as the ‘Brazilian Yearbook of Public Security’ show a 19% increase in the number of deaths of women in 2020. In most cases, women are murdered by their partners or members of their own families, as they do not accept that women break the rules of patriarchy. Rules that place them in the condition of object.
If we look more specifically at the ethnic-racial component, there is yet another issue faced by women. In this case, by black women. They are the ones who suffer most from injustices, racism, violence and prejudice. Black women have less education and receive the lowest wages, even when they perform the same functions as white men and women. In a study launched in 2019, called: “Social Inequalities by Color or Race”, published by IBGE, it was found that black women receive, on average, 44% less than white men.
Given this situation, it is necessary to advance much more in the democratization of gender relations in Brazil. However, this does not depend only on goodwill. It is essential for the State to create and expand public policies in the short, medium and long terms to help structure more just and egalitarian relationships for the benefit of women. Along with these policies, civil society institutions and collectives also have an important role to play, as they can and must take actions to guarantee the rights of women.
Also, men need to assume their role in the fight for justice and equality for women. They must join to combat the toxicity of chauvinism and patriarchy, colonial legacies that still structure relations in the present. Thus, recognizing that women are protagonists, men need to assume their responsibilities in the construction of a world free from sexism, misogyny and chauvinism.
Therefore, on this March 8, International Women's Day, more than tributes, the demand is for respect and equality. In this sense, Redes da Maré, as an institution that was born out of the struggle of women and celebrates its anniversary on the 8th of March, stands side by side with all women and reaffirms its commitment to the fight for gender equality, the end of racism and discrimination of every order.
We need to remember and turn into action the teachings of Carolina Maria de Jesus, Grada Kilomba, Conceição Evaristo, Ângela Davis, Beata de Yemanjá, Marielle Franco, Chiquinha Gonzaga, Marie Curie, Rosa Parks, Simone de Beauvior, Aqualtune, Dandara dos Palmares, Hatshepsut, Nzinga, Makeda, Catarina Mina, among many others. We need to strengthen their struggles.
Like Redes, Maré is a woman. Both because of her name being a “feminine” noun and because of its history. Maré comes from the waters. Just as all human life arises, in the waters of a woman's womb. And we say more. Maré is a racialized woman. The samba “A verdade vos fará livres” describes Estação Primeira de Mangueira. And from it, we borrow a verse that helps us to think of Maré: “Black face, Indian blood, woman's body”. Maré is a black-indigenous-northeastern woman. Maré is the womb of reinvention and female political construction.
Maré is also a woman due to its history of struggles waged by women, such as Maria Amélia Belfort, mother of 6 children, precursor of the popular mobilization movements in Nova Holanda. With her daily struggle, she paved the way for other women to speak. It is also impossible not to remember Eliana Sousa Silva, who with her strength helps us to think about the central issue in the struggle of women: self-empowerment. Following the footsteps of these extraordinary women, Marielle Franco, child of Maré, was elected councilor, in 2017. In her political career, she was internationally recognized for formulating guidelines in order to guarantee rights for black women, slums and LGBTQIA + populations.
Marielle was murdered on March 14, 2018. Six days after International Women's Day. According to Marielle:
“(…) How are women who do not have access to the city? These women are many. They are black women; lesbian women; trans women; peasant women; women who build this city, where several reports - whether you like them or not - present the centrality and strength of these women, but also present the figures that there was one lesbian murdered per week (…) ”[1]
With Marielle's question - "How are women who do not have access to the city?" - we make a bridge with another black woman from Maré, Renata Souza. Elected deputy in 2018, she continues and expands the work of Marielle and the women of Maré and the favelas. For this reason, she says: “When we look at the mothers who are here, we are sure that it is necessary to fight. Authoritarianism in the favela is amplified with the logic of withdrawing rights.”
The less rights for women, the more authoritarianism in the slums and in the city. And so, the more women of Maré advance, the more society advances as a whole. This understanding is essential for us to combat the conservative forces that insist to affirm that the struggle for the rights of populations like women and black people are "only indentitarian movements". They are not. They are political projects rooted in struggles and methodologies built a long time ago.
We need to understand the advances of women in Maré as advances of Brazil.
On March 8th and every day. Let's move forward!
Redes da Maré
Rio de Janeiro, March 8, 2021
[1] https://www.redesdamare.org.br/br/artigo/117/a-autoemancipacao-das-mulheres
[2] Last speech of Marielle Franco, in congress, on March 08 of 2018.
