El silencio con semblante de represión de género durante la guerra civil y el franquismo en Mérida

During de civil war and Franco´s dictatorship, a regime of domination or «symbolic violence» was reimposed and intensified. It associated women, with domesticity, and imposed silence on them by implying it was an attribute. In addition, it denied them their profile as workers and as individual subjects. They were defined in terms of their roles as wives and mothers, naturally linked to the home, the family and non-work. This article explores how this form of «symbolic violence» continues to have effects today among women born between 1927 and 1950, living in Mérida. The qualitative approach research, with semi-structured interviews, shows that the informants present patterns of silence, denial and under estimation, in relation to their role as productive and social agents. The data reveals that de structural inequalities mentioned in their testimonies, are not perceived as forms of gender discrimination, but as part of the natural order of things. These attitudes are interpreted as an expression of a «symbolic violence», that influences their self-perception. This leads them to not appreciate the inequalities and discrimination suffered socially and at work. Furthermore, the analysis shows that the process of destroying these initial convictions is a challenger that is progressing. There is however undoubtedly still some way to go.