Synchronized, we beat our wings:

Voices that resonate in the struggle against feminicide

Abstract

In an interview given in 2021 to Heloisa Buarque de Hollanda, Taily Terena, Márcia Wayna Kambeba and Marize Vieira de Oliveira vocalize their experiences as indigenous women who fight for urgent issues within the village territories of Brazil. Defending the human rights of indigenous communities is an act of resistance that goes against the omission of the State, especially in relation to violence against women. In this sense, we compare the speeches of these three warriors with the literary work Mulheres empilhadas (2019), by Brazilian writer Patrícia Melo, which thematizes femicide in a simultaneously sharp and poetic approach. Stemming from the case of Txupira – raped, tortured and murdered by three men that represent the society of the Brazilian state of Acre – the narrator of the novel shares with the women from the fictional villages Kuratawa and Ch’aska an identity journey of emancipation and female protagonism. Based on feminist academics of decolonial policies, such as María Lugones (2008; 2010), María Galindo (2013) and Françoise Vergès (2019), we emphasize the narrative strategies of Mulheres empilhadas, aiming at the expansion of women-authored literature potentials. Thereunto, we reflect on how the triple narration process of the narrative is created and pay attention, specifically, to the case of Txupira, in order to highlight historical aspects of the colonization and coloniality of Latin America and the idiosyncrasies displayed throughout the Brazilian territory. Thus, we dialogue intersectionally with decolonial feminisms’ demands and the theme of femicide – key aspects of Mulheres empilhadas, a narrative that represents the breakthrough of women-authored literature within the contemporary Brazilian scenario.

KEYWORDS: Mulheres empilhadas; Patrícia Melo; Brazilian literature; women-authored literature; violence against women.