“A mantra for our lives, in the midst of this crisis: may we live with respect for all—each with her own body, each in her own way, each in her own form of daily resistance!… We must always ask ourselves: what does it mean to be a woman? What has each of us not done, or done with some level of difficulty, because we are identified with our gender, because we are women? The question is not rhetorical; it is concrete. It is meant to be reflected upon throughout our daily lives, with each step taken by all women, who make up the majority of the population and, unfortunately, remain underrepresented.” — Marielle Franco
In her final speech at the Rio de Janeiro City Council on March 8, 2018, before her political assassination, City Councillor Marielle Franco could never have imagined that her words would spark a revolution—above all, a women’s revolution among Black women from favelas and peripheral areas. Alongside her speeches, the legacy of her political platform continues to inspire women far beyond Rio. In the municipality of Maricá, in Greater Rio’s Leste Fluminense Region, to the east of Guanabara Bay, yet another initiative inspired by Marielle’s legacy has been transforming lives: the Divas Group, which empowers women living in the federally-funded public housing complexes of the My House, My Life (MCMV by its Portuguese acronym) program, and in the neighborhoods of Inoã and Itaipuaçu.
“Marielle’s death brought on a boom. It was only after she was killed that we started seeing female deputies, city councilors, and women from favelas in the City Council. As a Black woman from the favela, I hadn’t seen this before—us being able to enter certain spaces. And it was only after Marielle’s death that we started seeing this happen. For me, this was one of the greatest legacies she left behind: us being able to be in certain spaces.” — Vanessa Malaquias, founder of the Divas Group
Created on May 14, 2023, the Divas Group celebrated its founding on Mother’s Day, serving mocotó, a Brazilian stew made from cow’s feet, to the communities of the Inoã and Itaipuaçu housing complexes. To learn more about the project, RioOnWatch spoke with the founders and members about their life stories, perspectives, dreams and what it is and what it means to be a “Diva.”
Vanessa Malaquias shares that her struggle began in 2017, when a flood hit the Itaipuaçu public housing complex where she lived at the time. In a desperate rush, she left her home to help her most vulnerable neighbors. Among those she assisted were many mothers carrying babies—some with disabilities and atypical features—as well as elderly residents. For Malaquias, the project’s founder, that moment awakened in her the need to take action and create something that would positively impact the community.
“The creation of the Divas Group came about when we needed to help each other because of a flood. There was a flood here at the public housing complex and after that, we women realized that we needed to support one another. I started cooking food at home to distribute. Food came from the church, from City Hall, from people who donated out of solidarity, from various institutions. Then, I started bringing together a group of women. Without having to ask for anything, one woman would show up with a container of food, another would tell me about someone in need. I’ve always wanted to take social action, to work with this kind of thing, and we were doing it without realizing, because of the flood. Then, I was able to expand our activities due to demand. People would come up to me asking who we were doing it for, which councilman was behind it. And it wasn’t [for any politician]. It was a group of women who wanted to take action, independent of City Hall, independent of any other institution.” — Vanessa Malaquias
Until it became official in May 2023, the group had already been actively working at the MCMV public housing complex in Itaipuaçu. According to Andreia Araujo, entrepreneur and vice-president of the Divas Group, to meet the great demand of the community until May 2023, they shared and bartered food, a practice typical of the solidarity economy.
“At that time, she (Vanessa) gave me the idea: ‘Andreia, what are you doing with the donations?’ And we took the idea and started trading [goods] in Maricá and Itaipuaçu, a general exchange. Here, in Itaboraí, Maricá, and Itaipuaçu, we would trade with businesses and schools. We’d find out where donations were happening, and we’d take the opportunity to share and trade food. We’d trade sugar for flour—‘Oh, there’s a flour donation over here!’ If we had a lot of sugar, we’d go there and swap it [for something else]… It was really great. And that’s how we’ve been doing things ever since.” — Andreia Araujo
Malaquias and the group continued their activities with the intention of expanding to another public housing complex, MCMV Inoã. In 2023, the group grew, as did demand, as more and more women joined the project. Today, the Maricá Divas have over 100 participants and collaborators. The group’s expansion has prompted reflection within the movement—members realized that the project should go beyond food distribution.
From then onwards, the goal was to transform perceptions of the housing complexes—to change how people from outside see them and, above all, how residents view their own community. To show one another that living with dignity is possible, regardless of where one lives. Additionally, to demonstrate that they can occupy spaces they once thought were out of reach, and to highlight the achievements and victories they can attain by gaining knowledge through courses, lectures, discussion circles, cultural events, and more. Finally, to empower the women in the community, helping them recognize their potential to become entrepreneurs and achieve financial autonomy.
Malaquias says she cannot remain indifferent to people in need. She spoke of her sorrow upon witnessing a young Black man die inside the housing complex. Seeing his mother in tears and a pastor praying next to his body, Malaquias says she was overcome with despair but did what she could to help. She was deeply saddened to see that no one spoke up or took action, as if the event were something ordinary.
“I didn’t feel removed from that reality, from that family. It wasn’t my son, but I was there in that moment, watching a young man lose his life. A young Black man. And no one said anything, no one was disturbed. There was only a pastor there, praying over his body, you know? These things weigh on me, especially when we talk about violence in the favela. Those of us who live in these communities have to make others understand what we are going through, what we are doing… If I resist, it’s to make others understand that these women need to come together, that they need new ways to put food on the table, new ways to earn a living.” — Vanessa Malaquias
Malaquias gets emotional when talking about the transformations in the lives of the women in the group. She highlights the importance of seeing them start their own businesses alongside other vendors and notes that they value and prioritize each other’s work. This has created a network economy, where everyone prospers together.
Aline Leite Valentim is one of the women impacted by the Divas Group. As the mother of an autistic child, she lived in Rio de Janeiro but moved to Maricá to escape a cycle of domestic violence. She shares that she fled from her ex-husband with her baby son and secured a home in the MCMV housing complex in Itaipuaçu. She faced many challenges before securing public benefits for her son. She took cooking, baking and confectionery classes, which have become one of her sources of income. After joining the Divas Group, she took on the role of coordinator for the group of mothers of children with disabilities. Beyond encouraging members to share their experiences, Valentim advises other mothers on the rights of children on the autism spectrum and, more broadly, the rights of people with disabilities.
Valentim laments the prejudice faced by public housing residents when they seek employment or promote their businesses. She herself shares that she once lost a cake order after telling a customer where she lived.
“I was finalizing the order, and everything was fine until the customer asked where I lived. As soon as I told her, she ended the conversation, saying, ‘Oh, never mind, then.’ I didn’t understand and even tried to reason with her, saying I could deliver the order. But she hung up and didn’t want to hear anything else, as if my work had no value whatsoever. Even getting a job is difficult. When you say where you’re from, when you say you live here, they stop listening.” — Aline Leite Valentim
Ana Claudia Francisco Moreira is another mother of a child with disabilities in the Divas Group. She is the mother of Claudia Moreira, affectionately known as Claudinha or little Claudia. Moreira moved from Teresópolis to Maricá in search of a quieter life with her daughter. Having recently joined the group, she says that when she learned about the support network for children with disabilities, she began to connect with the Divas Group. She tells us that, as a single mother, she receives strong emotional support from the other Divas, which has been incredibly important to her. To supplement her income, Moreira shares that her daughter Claudinha makes bracelets and necklaces to sell within the housing complex, which helps cover expenses for her daughter or household essentials.
“It’s just me and her. I don’t earn much from my work, and I don’t receive any benefits. She started making these bracelets just for fun, until we ran out of milk for her and couldn’t afford more supplies for her bracelets. That’s when I had the idea to buy more materials and make them to sell. What we managed to sell today was enough to buy milk and bread. It’s not much, but it helps a lot.” — Ana Claudia Francisco Moreira
Like Valentim, Moreira reflects on the external prejudice faced by residents of the MCMV housing complex in Itaipuaçu, where she currently lives. She tells us that rideshare drivers refuse to enter the complex to pick up or drop off passengers, and that, at times, elderly residents and wheelchair users who live far from the entrance are forced to walk a considerable distance. Due to such incidents, Moreira highlights the lack of respect toward residents, especially those with disabilities.
In the face of adversity, the women of the Divas Group resist. Beyond the support they offer one another, the group hosts courses for adults, such as entrepreneurship and handicrafts, and classes for children, including capoeira, martial arts, and academic tutoring. According to Millene Torres, director and coordinator of the Divas, the inclusion of children with disabilities and their mothers is a priority.
“We’ve already organized several events here in the complex. For example, we hosted a Pink October lecture, where we served a community lunch and talked about the importance of vaccinations and breast cancer prevention. We held a Children’s Day event with 100 children. We also held a Christmas celebration for children with disabilities, where we hosted 25 children and sponsored them. Additionally, we organized our Solidarity Christmas, serving lunch for nearly 200 people. We even had our very own Santa Claus.” — Millene Torres
At the heart of the Divas Group are women supporting women and making a difference in the community where they live—lifting each other up and leaving no one behind. To organize events or celebrations, each woman donates what she can, including her time. Janaina Torres, Millene’s mother, says she prefers working in the kitchen, where she feels most comfortable, preparing dishes for the events. There, she works alongside the mother-and-daughter duo, Dona Nizia Félix de Souza and Neide Félix da Silva. They all speak of the deep satisfaction of being able to do something for those in need.
Since its official launch in May 2023, the Divas Group has continued to expand. In addition to operating in the MCMV Itaipuaçu and MCMV Inoã housing complexes, the Divas have already reached other areas of Maricá, such as Retiro, Marine, and the Risca Faca Favela, where their activities take place inside evangelical churches.
In her last speech, Councilwoman Marielle Franco asked, “What does it mean to be a woman?” To this question, the Divas Group responds with acts of civic engagement and solidarity within the communities and favelas of Maricá.
Reflecting on the time she lived near the Rio de Janeiro City Council, Valentim, the Divas coordinator for the group of mothers of children with disabilities, says: “What I witnessed in several of [Marielle Franco’s conversation circles] with Black women from the favelas, I try to bring here, to the mothers of children with disabilities. Because this is where we open our hearts and share our experiences.”
For the Maricá Divas, Marielle Franco’s legacy encourages and motivates women not to be indifferent to the issues facing other women. It is a legacy of daily struggle for improvements within their communities.
About the author: Carla Regina Aguiar dos Santos was born and raised in Morro do Turano. Her work as a community journalist has always prioritized the day-to-day happenings in the favelas. Reporting what goes on beyond the view of traditional media, she has contributed to the Favela News Agency (ANF), A Pública, Eu, Rio! and Terra. She received the ANF Award for journalism in the culture category and the Neuza Maria Award for Journalism.