{"id":69909,"date":"2022-03-24T08:49:49","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T11:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=69909"},"modified":"2023-08-23T12:21:36","modified_gmt":"2023-08-23T15:21:36","slug":"four-years-without-marielle-a-living-legacy-in-politics-for-black-brazilian-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=69909","title":{"rendered":"Four Years Without Marielle: A Living Legacy in Politics for Black Brazilian Women"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“To be a black woman is to resist and survive at every moment<\/span><\/a>.\u201d The phrase was said by Marielle Franco<\/a>, a woman who would change the course of Brazilian political history, in an interview given to <\/span>Brasil de Fato<\/span><\/a> <\/em>as part of a series on women’s struggles, in March 2017. Today, this is the premise of black women in politics<\/a>. They are the seeds<\/a> planted by <\/span>Marielle Franco<\/span>, born and bred in the anti-racist struggle<\/a> for human rights, gender equality and democracy in Brazil<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The low representation<\/a> of black women in political spheres has always been an obstac<\/span>le. The disparate nature of the occupation of decision-making spaces continues to be fed by social exclusion, rooted in the racism and sexism that structure society. In the 2020 elections, men were 84% of the city councilors elected in Brazil. Among the 16% of women councilors elected, 59% were white women and 34% were black. This means that for every 100 city councilors elected in the country in 2020, only 16 were women and, of these, only five were non-white, even though black women comprise the largest demographic group in the country\u201428% of the population<\/a>. These data resulted from a survey<\/a><\/span> conducted by UN Women<\/a>\u00a0in partnership with G\u00eanero e N\u00famero<\/a>, from data provided by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE<\/a>).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Though the percentage of women elected in 2020 was low, it was higher than in the previous election. In 2016, only 13.5% of elected councilors were women. In this context, Marielle Franco, born and raised in the favelas of <\/span>Complexo da Mar\u00e9<\/span><\/a>, in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone<\/a><\/span>, did not allow herself to be silenced, whether socially or politically. Her path led to the acknowledgement of the importance of the black, favela woman for the strengthening of democracy. State deputy <\/span>Renata Souza<\/span><\/a> and city councilor M\u00f4nica Cunha<\/span><\/a>, who was also founder of Movimento Moleque<\/a>, are two black women who were shaped by the struggle for rights and who had their lives marked by Marielle Franco and her legacy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMarielle Showed that Black Women from the Peripheries Know How to Do Politics”<\/b><\/h3>\n

M\u00f4nica Cunha<\/a> is a human rights defender and social educator. In 2003, she founded Movimento Moleque<\/a> to combat the abuse suffered by adolescents<\/a> complying with juvenile detention measures<\/a>. Her activism started there, when her son Rafael da Silva Cunha, as a teen, committed a nonviolent crime. Later, in December 2006, at age 20, he was murdered by the Civil Police, which intensified Cunha’s fight into a lifelong mission. <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Meu filho Rafael da Silva Cunha foi assassinado no dia 5 de dezembro de 2006, aos 20 anos. Mas minha milit\u00e2ncia n\u00e3o come\u00e7ou com a morte dele, e sim quando ele tinha 15 anos e foi cumprir medidas socioeducativas em um estabelecimento do Degase, no Rio de Janeiro. 👇🏿 pic.twitter.com\/5EOOl8dIV6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Monica Cunha (@monicacunhario) August 22, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n