Bahiana supports the 1st March of Black Women

“We hope to place in Brasília as many black women as possible, because if we go out into the streets with a significant number, we will be able to establish dialogues and the march is one of the ways we have to exert political pressure”, reports Valdeci Nascimento, member of the Black Women's Network and Odara (Black Women's Institute) who attended the press conference at the Center for Afro-Oriental Studies (CEAO) on November 13, to publicize the 1st March of Black Women 2015, which took place in Brasília until November 18 and had the institutional support of Escola Bahiana de Medicina e Saúde Pública.

The march brings together women from all states. In Bahia, the departure towards the federal capital took place on November 16, at 20 pm, in Salvador, in Campo Grande square, where around 200 women were gathered with a single objective of combating femicide of the black race, racism and fighting for the good life. The visit to Brasília aimed to present to President Dilma Roussef the indices expressed by the 2015 Map of Violence.

The Northeast Region occupies a prominent place due to the high growth of femicide rates, with an expressive index of 79,3% in ten years. Bahia is the third state where this type of violence is growing at a rapid rate.

“In this movement, we seek to fight for guarantees of our rights because, according to the map of violence, we are the race with the highest mortality rate and several other issues, such as access to education and health. I believe that also representing the youth, as a black woman, we have to demand improvements. We've already got the quotas, but it's still very little if we relate to certain situations we've suffered”, explains MaiahLunas, a Social Science student at the Federal University of Bahia and Odara intern.

According to Lindinalva de Paula, a member of the Afoxé Kambalagwanze Black Women's Network, the mobilization is extremely important, as it demonstrates that women have awakened and that the state of Bahia is very well articulated with this mobilization. “We do not have the structure and resources to guarantee a delegation that is more representative of Bahia, but the state, the 417 municipalities are cohesive among themselves and, for us, this is an advance. It is a sign that black women are putting on the agenda the questioning of this development in which we are excluded and the policy of good living”, she concludes.

“We are going to parliament to get out of this pig racism that unfortunately still exists and we intend to give a cry that echoes as if it were an eruption of a volcano”, says Rose Mafalda, advisor to the Black Community Development Council (CDSN).

For Cleuza Santos, from the Domestic Workers Union, the violence against black women is appalling, not only in Bahia but in other states. "We are going to march against violence and we expect more visibility for these black women and warriors who are fighting so hard for the country's growth", she concludes.

During the march, presentations were made by Banda Didá and Ilê Aiyê.

Check out the photos.