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a position of privilege.” 7 It became clear to us fromthe very beginning of this project that language, thepower of words, and the strength of these women’svoices would be one of the pillars of this collectiveconstruction.The Afro-Brazilian identity is fundamental inthis project. The need to differentiate feminismfrom black feminism has emerged from our observationand praxis – and is one of the most importantlearnings for our research team. Black feministmovements have been stressing for years that patriarchyand sexism cannot be dissociated from classoppression, capitalism, colonialism and racism – ifdiversity and inequality are not addressed in feministpolitical action, there is a risk that feminismitself might fall into the trap of repeating the homogenising,reductionist approaches that deepeninvisibilities. It is important not to forget that hegemonicconsensuses are intimately bound to silence,to the disregard of differences, to the masking ofconflicts.It is in this scenario that the concept of the Yalodêemerges.Yalodês, voice and actionAccording to Werneck, “The leadership and responsibilityof women in dealing with transcendentalreligious issues, and cultural and political issues,is a very old reality that precedes the history ofcolonialism in Africa.” Among the several possiblemanifestations of the exercise of women’s politicalleadership is the Ialodê (the Brazilian word for theterm Ìyálóòde in the Yoruba language). Werneckpoints out that the Ialodês have been “confrontingthe notions of centre and periphery” for centuries– through promoting and being part of “initiativesthat have in common the recognition of women’sleadership, women’s presence in public activities,as well as the political role of women.” She explains:Ialodê also refers to the woman who representswomen, some kinds of emblematic women, theone who speaks on behalf of others and participatesin the spaces of power. […] The ialodês, onthe other hand, have been affirming their presenceand relevance in the 21st century throughbodily and oral narratives, transmitted frommouth to ears, to attentive eyes, in the differentspaces where the tradition is inherited and actualised.In the Brazilian case, this is seen in anyblack community, where women, undertaking7 Werneck (2005) Op. cit. The references to Jurema’s work in thisreport are freely translated from Portuguese by Graciela Selaimen.Please note also that Jurema uses the spelling “Ialodê” instead of“Yalodê”, which is why both versions are used in this report.roles of leadership or collective responsibility,develop actions of affirmation of a future forall of the subordinated group. This happensthrough the struggles for improvements in thematerial conditions of life, as well as in the developmentof behaviours and activities that aimto affirm the pertinence and actuality of immateriallife. Thus, not only in the Afro-Brazilianreligious communities, where they have a fundamentalrole in the propagation of axé, 8 butalso outside sacred spaces, the ialodê is actualised,necessary and celebrated. 9In this context we understood that the most pressingneed in terms of empowering and enhancingblack women’s collective participation in local governanceis to strengthen and amplify these women’svoices, especially aiming for greater recognition ofthese leaders as legitimate political actors, improvingthe quality of their impact on local governancestructures and processes. Here, the amplificationof voices must be understood in two ways: first,as the re-signification and affirmation of the blackwomen’s voice and place in the local institutionalecosystem, which we may help to achieve by supportingthem in different practices for discursiveand symbolic production. The affirmation of theirvoices affects the way the Yalodês understand andsituate themselves in democratic processes, helpingto establish more articulate and sustainabledialogues with state and non-state actors involvedin governance processes.Secondly, this amplification can be understoodin a more concrete way: as the amplification of thereach of these voices, by having them heard in awider spectrum of political spaces, through processesthat involve identity and difference, or whatLister refers to as “a politics of recognition andrespect”. 10 As Gaventa and Jones observe, “Citizens’voices derived from identities that are notrecognised, nor indeed respected, are not likely tobe heard.” 11 Among the Yalodês there is consensusabout the need for more symmetry in their relationswith the local powers – even in spaces that wereconceived to be “participatory”, where more deliberativeand inclusionary forms of policy making and8 “Axé means strength, in an existential sense. This means thataxé is the basis of existence, what puts it in movement. Axé mayalso be understood as the power of engendering and realisation.Without axé, existence would not exist.”9 Werneck (2005) Op. cit.10 Lister, R. (2002) A politics of recognition and respect: Involvingpeople with experience of poverty in decision making that affectstheir lives, Social Policy and Society, 1(1), p. 37-46.11 Gaventa, J. and Jones, E. (2002) Concepts of Citizenship: A Review,IDS, Brighton UK.77 / Global Information Society Watch