“At this very moment, our leaders are being persecuted because of religious fundamentalism legitimized by certain public authorities. This course is extremely important for the grassroots movement, because it provides us with the arguments needed to go into battle, knowing our rights.” It was in this mood and with this intention, expressed by leader Ceiça Axé, from the Pernambuco Network of Women from the Worship Houses, that, between 16 and 20 September, CESE ran its Mobilizing Support Course in Salvador (Bahia).
Ceiça explained that this violence is nothing new, but is growing at an alarming rate in the country, because of a new power project based on racism and sexism. “Black and indigenous women are those most affected by religious fundamentalism. Africa is the cradle of humanity and the Northeast is the blackest region in this country, yet this is where these types of violence most frequently occur,” she said.
Mobilizing Support has been a priority area in CESE’s dialogue and coordination with women’s movements, especially in the context of the violence linked to our country’s historical and structural inequalities.
“When we talk about religious freedom, the secular state and other rights-related issues, we know that women’s groups are excluded from discussion arenas and from access to resources. Women from the grassroots sectors are silenced in environments for political construction, which is why they demand more support, so they can have better tools for this fight,” explained Sônia Mota, CESE’s Executive Director, explaining the organization’s intention to promote a course for women’s movements in the Northeast.
For Bárbara Aguiar, a member of Marias Voices (Vozes Marias), the training makes a huge difference to the collective’s work in the rights of evangelical women: “We recognize and reaffirm the need for training, for deepening our knowledge in all areas, so we can have a political impact in a context where religious fundamentalism and conservatism are increasing, directly affecting the lives of all women,” she said.
For this Christian and feminist, evangelical environments experience and are subject to the perpetuation of gender violence. And Marias Voices’ participation in the training helps to strengthen the struggle: “It will make a huge difference to our work for the rights of evangelical women, so that we can have safe religious spaces, so that we can exercise our faith and our spirituality,” she said.
The Diversity of the Struggles
The training was part of the Giving for Change Programme and was attended by the Community of Practice – a group representing women’s movements in the Northeast region – made up of women with disabilities, black women, female activists, domestic workers, indigenous women, peasant women, fisherwomen, young women, female communicators, evangelical women, women from African-origin Worship Houses, LGBTQIA+ women, Christian feminists and sex workers.
CESE worked in partnership with the state Association of Lawyers for Rural Workers (Associação de Advogados de Trabalhadores Rurais: AATR) regarding legal frameworks and applied the methodology of the Change the Game Programme, which aims to strengthen organizations in relation to local resource mobilization and mobilizing support.
The plurality of the movements and the religious diversity in attendance were noteworthy. Various themes related to the struggles of these collectives were addressed, including cross-cutting agendas against racism and sexism, women’s rights, the demarcation of indigenous lands, the defence of fishing territories, religious freedom, the struggle for housing, and remaining in one’s territory.
Glaubiana Alves, an indigenous woman from the Jenipapo Kanindé People and a member of the Coalition of Indigenous Women in Ceará (Articulação de Mulheres Indígenas no Ceará: AMICE), said that meeting other activists and finding out about their struggles strengthens indigenous women: “Talking to different women was an incredible experience. It’s an important process to unite all our agendas, helping to improve our knowledge and strengthen the struggles of indigenous women in Ceará,” she said.
In line with the diversity and plurality of the members themselves, Maria Rocha, from the Cabras Collective (Coletiva Cabras), noted how important it is to understand how her colleagues work in other territories: “This listening and exchange supports the defence of women’s rights as a whole. It’s a reflection that will help us go back to our community as knowledge multipliers and improve our plans to ensure our mobilization is more effective.” She added: “It’s also given us an opportunity to create this support network, to strengthen the different struggles.”
The Mobilizing Support Course
The course addressed tools and content aimed at strengthening advocacy and mobilization strategies with the state and with society, including activities to intervene in public policies and campaigns for social causes. The aim is to convince or put pressure on the public authorities and other decision-makers to meet their demands to guarantee rights.
Lúcia Azevedo, from the Network of Black Women from the Northeast (Rede de Mulheres Negras do Nordeste: RMNN), described how the course aligns with their annual political agenda to improve strategies and evaluate the network’s social mobilization trajectory: “We’re going to improve March for Black Women’s Struggle, Black Women’s July, the Campaign for the Lives of Black Women and many other agendas. We’re going to create new ways to influence governments, institutions and the Brazilian state in relation to racism, fundamentalism, feminicide against black women, historical reparations and Good Living.”
For her, some of the content was important to think and reflect on practice. “The course helps us to rethink what we do and the steps we take. We were able to analyse social actors based on who our allies and main adversaries are. We reflected on the institutions and people we deal with in our day-to-day struggles, and the degree to which they influence whether we’re going backwards or forwards in terms of black women’s rights,” she said.
For Maria Rocha, the course tools are fundamental for a better understanding of the problem, and for identifying solutions and action strategies. “I was able to identify the roots of our main problem, what the conflicts are within our territory, what the best solution is, and where we want to go,” she said.
Bárbara Aguiar believes that, after the training, Marias Voices will be able to act in an organized and strategic manner with the competent bodies, requesting, demanding and monitoring the group’s demands: “We’ve come to more fully understand how the three powers, the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary, work and how they function in society. The course described instruments that will serve as tools for us to propose, suggest and monitor the public policies that represent us.” And she described the activity as “a great opportunity for the lives of all women”.
Ceiça Axé, meanwhile, said that, as well as taking ownership of the tools, she’s returning to her territory energized to take up the fight: “The course was a motivator to take action for our rights and to seek justice. I’m going back to my base with more courage to continue taking action against fundamentalism. Because Brazil is a secular country and everyone has the right to exercise the religion they identify with.”
Next steps
The in-person course will continue with the organizations drawing up their own Mobilizing Support Plan, an activity that will include on-line orientation meetings, and will conclude with a second on-line stage at the end of October. Participating organizations will also be able to submit proposals to a call for small projects, which will support up to 10 women’s organizations in the Northeast in activities for Mobilizing Support and Communications.