gisw13_chapters

BRAZILICTs and black women’s empowerment: Unmasking dominationin several layersInstituto NupefGraciela Selaimenwww.nupef.org.brIntroductionIn the Yoruba 1 language, Yalodê is the word usedto refer to women who represent and speak in thename of other women, who emerge as politicalleaders and agents of transformation, who are emblematicin the development of their community, inthe defence of rights, in the maintenance of culturaland religious traditions, and in challenging the statusquo by fighting against the stratified powers ofthe dominant order – male-centred, Euro-centred,based on the capitalist exploitation of peoples andnature. 2 This was the word chosen to give a localname to the Women-gov project 3 in Brazil, so it canbe instantly understood and easily pronounced byits participants and their communities. The Yalodêis a warrior, and anyone can immediately associatethe concept to the group of women who areengaged in this initiative: strong, determined, preparedwomen, ready to raise questions, point outconcerns, propose alternatives, lead processes,and commit to the urgently needed changes in oursocieties.The primary question that the Women-govproject addresses is: How can digital technologiesbe suitably employed to create participatory governancemodels that enable socially and economicallymarginalised women in local contexts to gain centrestage? To this end, the partnering organisationsare working in each place with women’s collectives/organisations at the grassroots level, exploringthe possibilities offered by digital technologies to1 An African language which is an important part of the origins ofBrazilian culture.2 For a deeper analysis of the concept and history of the Yalodê, see:Werneck, J. (2005) De Ialodês e Feministas - Reflexões sobre a açãopolítica das mulheres negras na América Latina e Caribe, NouvellesQuestions Feministes - Revue Internationale Francophone, 24(2).3 Women-gov is a feminist action-research project that aims atenhancing marginalised women’s active citizenship and theirengagement with local governance, across three sites in India,Brazil and South Africa. The partnering organisations are IT forChange in India, Instituto Nupef in Brazil and the New Women’sMovement in South Africa. www.gender-is-citizenship.net/womenand-governancefacilitate women’s political mobilisation, their activeengagement with governance structures, and theircollective articulation and negotiation of interests.In Brazil, Nupef is working with the non-governmentalorganisation Criola 4 in the implementation of theYalodês project. The Yalodês are a group of womenleaders from different communities of Rio de Janeiroand other municipalities in the Baixada Fluminense 5region of Brazil, who have been participating in Criola’sinitiatives for the strengthening of capacitiesand political articulation.At the very first meeting between the Nupefteam and participants in the Yalodês project, it becameclear that a lot of attention should be paid tolanguage when working with this group: we werequestioned/corrected twice during the meeting dueto words that were used. When explaining the objectivesof the project, talking about the strengtheningof women’s political participation and increasingpoor and marginalised women’s influence over thewider decision-making processes which affect theirlives, we were questioned: “Why marginalised?” Abit later, when discussing how the strategic use ofICTs may enhance the informational, associationaland communicative power of women’s collectives,we were (correctly) reminded: “Here, you’re talkingto black women collectives.”Language, besides being deeply linked withidentity, can be a powerful means of exercisingsocial control. It can give people a strong sense ofbelonging or of being excluded. This is brilliantlyput in Jurema Werneck’s 6 article “De Ialodês eFeministas”, where she affirms that “the capacityof giving names to things refers to a situation ofpower. So, it’s about the possibility of ordering theworld according to one’s own, singular basis, be itfrom individual perspectives or from the perspectiveof collectives, of entire populations. It is thus4 Criola is an NGO founded and run by black women. Its missionis “to empower black women, adolescents and girls to stand upagainst racism, sexism and lesbophobia, and to undertake actionsaimed at the improvement of the living conditions of the blackpopulation.”5 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baixada_Fluminense6 Jurema Werneck is one of the founders and coordinators of Criola,the NGO which is Nupef’s partner in the Women-gov project inBrazil.76 / Global Information Society Watch