From Raquel Lourenço to women's exile. Ca’ Foscari talks about women

On November 27th, 29th and 30th the international symposium Donne in fuga / Mujeres en fuga / Femmes en fuite will be held at Ca’ Foscari with the participation of Raquel Lourenço and introduced by Susanna Regazzoni and Ricciarda Ricorda with whom we talked.

What does talking about women and gender entails nowadays? Why is it an important issue in the academic context?

We would like to talk about human beings but it is important to talk about women because they face a minority condition. From our everyday life there are situations in which men talk louder and have unappropriate behaviors. Sadly this is mainstream mentality but we have culture on our side, punishment would not be as effective as getting used to a different culture that will be able to change this mentality.
We need to show solidarity with women from around the world, especially to those closest to us and I think that “slaves” should free themselves. All the help in the world is useless without personal commitment.

On November 27th we listened to photographer and activist Raquel Lourenço: can you tell us more about her and her work?

Raquel travels the world with her camera, to capture women and their issues of religious, political or social sorts. Raquel looks for answers in her encounters she gathered in Voices of Women - her homage to women. Through her art, photography, she will share her journey in Asia and how this experience helped her to discover herself as a woman involved in fighting for gender equality. Raquel will present her project Voices of Women. We must remember how in a world of welfare and capitalism difficult living conditions emerge for many women.

November 29th and 30th are dedicated to “fleeing women” around the world. Could you explain the concept to us?

This project is very important to me and I am very proud of my Ca’ Foscari colleagues’ commitment in it. A network of sympathy emerged. Feminine exile in general is included: emigration, refugee status, women facing Madame Bovary’s or Shahrazād’s conditions. It does not limit itself to physical illness.
In Edward Saïd’s Reflections on Exile every kind of exile is listed. As professor Zilio Grandi explains one of key features of women is to “always feel out of place”.
Escape and exile are not necessarily on the same level: one can escape a country, escape can be part of literature; exile can be metaphorical or concrete.
We shall remember that emigrating women did not have a last name at the end of the 19th century - emigrating women did not exist; men were the ones who emigrated.

If you could choose a woman to share a dinner with who would it be? What would you talk about?

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. She was a Mexican poet and a Hieronymite nun. Her Respuesta from 1691 is famous. In a debate with the Catholic Church and the Jesuites - a male oriented contest - she was forced to be silent. Well, I would ask her if she was indeed or not.