Women face great resistance in the political field, says historian

Brazil is the fifth country in the world that kills the most women, even with laws that are a reference against violence.

Being a woman in a patriarchal society has always been a challenge. Over time, women have been gaining ground, but in many cases in the shadow of men. According to the French historian Michelle Perrot, since history began to exist as a scientific discipline, from the 19th century onwards, women have depended on the representations of men – who for a long time were the only historians.

This assertion is part of one of the books by the Brazilian historian and writer Ana Maria Colling. An expert in Women's History, she has been studying the subject for decades and has published several works. For Ana Maria, women have managed to advance in society, but there have been many setbacks. In some countries, where repression is still widespread, there are many barriers to be overcome.

Professor Ana Maria received the team from H2FOZ na Kunda Bookstore to talk about the subject.

Violence against women is a concern. How do you assess the situation in Brazil?

Brazil is admired worldwide for its laws that try to curb violence, for its egalitarian laws such as Maria da Penha and anti-feminicide, and at the same time it is the fifth country in the world that kills the most women and the first country in the world that kills the most LGBTQI+ people. The patriarchy remains.

You say that the greatest resistance to women today is in the political arena. Is this a Brazilian reality or is it present in other countries?

The disqualification of the feminine, the minority of women was constructed by discourses and practices – the philosopher Foucault calls discursive practices and non-discursive practices – which were historically constructed in the West. We only need to look at the famous case of Olympe de Gouges, who fought in the French Revolution and when she was beheaded by her revolutionary colleagues, it is quite incredible what they will say to her: you will die for two reasons, because you wanted to be a statesman (because you read and wrote) and because you betrayed the nature of your sex (women were made only to give birth). So let's see that in the Western world women have always been worth very little, they were a very weak currency.

And currently this condition is present in the East, clearly in Iran.

The case of Iran now is not only about not wearing the veil, but about the misuse of the veil. But Brazil is not far behind. Theocracy is present here. I always shudder when I hear people talking about morality and family, because any politician who comes to talk about morality and family usually owes something. And the other thing is morality and family in a patriarchal model, where men give orders and women obey. The world can only be democratic if there are equal opportunities between the sexes; where women have the same opportunities as men, with the same salaries; where they no longer need to be killed because they no longer want that man; where they no longer need to be beaten just because they were suspicious because they were wearing red lipstick.

So could we have a setback due to the conservative wave in Brazil?

There is already a setback. I think Damares [Alves] is an example of this setback. With all due respect to all the policies, but a woman who is leading a Ministry for Women being an enemy of women is not possible. The most dramatic case involving this woman was the case of the girl who became pregnant at 11 or 12 years old and they wanted to prohibit her from having an abortion, and when it was agreed, Damares revealed the name of the hospital where the girl was and she had to suffer a second or third violence of seeing women at the door saying that she could not have an abortion. 

Today we see a lack of tolerance towards different opinions, different positions and a restriction of reason. What do you think about this? 

I think there is no reason in such a moralistic and prejudiced speech. I can't understand what bothers you if your neighbor is gay or is black. What bothers you about the Indian in the village?

Interviewee's CV

Ana Maria Colling.  Historian, specialist in Women's History, Gender Relations and Sexualities, works with the Postgraduate Program in History at UFGD (Federal University of Greater Dourados). Researcher at Unesco with the chair of Cultural Diversity, Gender and Borders. Among his works, the following stand out: Women's resistance to the military dictatorship in Brazil; Different times, the same discourses – the historical construction of the female body; Brazilian women’s citizenship – a genealogy. Organizer of the award-winning Critical Dictionary of Gender (foreword by Michelle Perrot).