The agenda presented to the city council for greater gender equality in Faenza toponymy was approved by majority
The agenda presented in the Faenza city council by the Democratic Party aimed at rebalancing the important gender gap in the city’s topographical nomenclature was approved in recent weeks.
The mapping carried out by the “Female Toponymy” Association has revealed that in the city a large part of the streets are dedicated to men: we are talking about 365 streets and squares named after male figures facing the sun 19 named after female figures. Of these 19, only 11 are dedicated to figures outside the religious world. The text presented jointly commits the Mayor and the Council to formalize the desire to dedicate the new streets, squares, green areas, sports or educational facilities to female personalities who are currently not adequately represented in the city’s toponymy.
Although the text was approved by a majority, the choice by the Brothers of Italy and the League to reject the order was discussed, while Progetto Civico Faentino abstained: «We really don’t understand the reasons: also and above all by symbolic and expressive languages undergo the great cultural changes of society. Being able to recognize deserving local and national female figures in the streets of your city contributes day after day to instilling awareness in younger generations and beyond that it is also possible for women to reach leadership positions and contribute to the well-being and progress of society. The rebalancing of gender equality in city toponymy is just one of many tools that can make equality truly effective and they are not just bandied about in words – they comment from the Democratic Party – this outcome is regrettable because beyond the attempt to grasp at straws, it certifies in fact the persistence even among the political forces of Faenza of prejudices that are no longer justifiable and acceptable”.
Below is the agenda presented by the council group
For greater gender equality in Faenza toponymy
- the naming of streets and squares, the naming of educational, social, sporting and other public places, including inscriptions and commemorative plaques, are the responsibility of the Municipal Administration and are to be considered constitutive elements of the collective historical memory of the cities and as such they deserve to be protected;
- Article 9 of the Regulation of toponymy and house numbering currently in force provides that “in the attribution of new names relating to natural persons, gender proportionality between men and women must be pursued”, without however considering the important historical imbalance in the previous attributions;
- recently, following a research launched at a national level, it emerged that the characters to whom streets, squares, gardens, buildings and urban places are dedicated are mostly male figures, not recognizing the equally fundamental contribution given by many women in history;
- the “Female Toponymy” Association carried out a mapping of the names assigned to streets, squares, gardens and it emerged that in our city a large part of the streets are dedicated to men, in particular, only 19 streets are named after female figures in front of 365 streets/squares named after male figures;
- the naming of a street is not only a celebration but is also the recognition of a value and that the names themselves can contribute to creating a culture of gender equality.
Whereas:
- formalize, through a specific amendment to the municipal regulations on toponymy, the desire to dedicate new streets, squares, green areas, sports or educational facilities to female personalities who are currently not adequately represented in the city’s toponymy;
- implement a survey of public areas currently not named and proceed with the naming, contributing to the rebalancing of a toponymy that is currently too unbalanced in a male sense.
