This braid belonged to Mariana Torres Esquer. She, like so many other women, lost the war, her loved ones and her hair. Some of these women were repressed for their political ideas and/or actions before and during the war. Others, simply for being the relative of a Red. In the eyes of the Franco regime, both were deserving of this punishment because they were Reds and represented the antithesis of the submissive, Catholic and Francoist woman. In other words, they were not even considered women and by shaving their heads, they were deprived of one of the symbols of their femininity. With this exemplary method, they were singled out and the rest of the population was warned.
Once shaved, they were paraded around the village to humiliate them. The ingestion of castor oil before the walk or making them play a tabal (a type of drum) were some of the practices used to subject them to public scorn. Some of the villagers attended and participated in this "spectacle", insulting and laughing at the victims of these inhuman rituals. In addition to the scorn and shame, many of them had to face a financial penalty.
It should be remembered that some of the shaved women, such as those who had loved ones in the mass graves of Paterna, were going through the difficult mourning for the murders of their relatives. Thus, if this experience was already traumatic in itself, the repression experienced first-hand would mark the life experience of these women.
In spite of this, they brought up their daughters and sons, making sure that they did not feel hatred or resentment. Silence was the most widespread way of transmitting their open grief and the mistreatment they suffered, the formula they found to protect their children. Some of these children were old enough to consciously experience the family's repression. Others have no memory of this fateful past. Sooner or later, however, the sons and daughters of the victims would eventually experience what it meant to be a descendant of a Red.
Through oral testimonies, it has been possible to learn and collect information about this specific violence suffered by the women who were shaved. This has been done by different professionals who, from different disciplines, have set out to make these women visible. This is the case of the historian Pura Peiró, who researches the shaved women in the local area of La Safor, the researcher Francesc Jover or the project Mapa Mujeres Rapadas d'Art al Quadrat. Thanks to these initiatives and the testimony of Teresa Llopis Guixot, we have been able to learn about the experience of Trinidad Sanchis Cots and make other shaved women visible.
LIST OF SHAVEN WOMEN
Mariana Torres Esquer «Lalina»
Milagro Dominguez Montes
Milagro Payà Alonso «l’Albarà»
Maria Vilaplana Moltó «la Fiera»
Pilar Colomer Aznar
Mª Luisa Guillen Espejo
Matilde Palanca Sarió «les del Pati»
Maria Pérez Lacruz «la Jabalina»
Natividad Gómez Sanchis -
Isabel Maria Landete
Milagro Pascual Castelló «la Morota»
Maria Valls Blanes «la Melona»
Luisa Rodrigo Valverde
Francesca Merin Ferri «la Llarga»
Mª Vicenta Seguí Pascual «Maria la Pessetes»
Milagro Soler Boix «la Imperio»
Maria Montava Palacios «la Campana»
Dolores Lucas Moltó «la Querola»
Felicidad Doñate Bau
Eugenia Elorri Cortés
Emilia Elorri Cortés
Celestina Elorri Cortés
Carmen Banacloig Solar
Vicenta Maria Segura Cervera “Les Pastores”
Evarista Segura Cervera “Les Pastores”
Encarnación Segura Cervera “Les Pastores”
Dolores Segura Cervera “Les Pastores”
Adela Olaso Pérez
Dolores Morant Alcina
Remedios Durà Guerrero
Maria Cabanes, “La Valera”
Carmen Morant Mainar, “La Llenternes”
Dolores Miragall Gregori
Rosario Fornés Prefaci
Rosa Peiró Fornés
Maria Peiró Fornés
Elisa Peiro Fornés
Asunción Buig Pastor, “La Gardiua”
Consuelo Sala Miñana, “La Vetorina”
Vicenta Fuster Girau
Rosario Sala Femenia
Salvadora Guerola Jordà
Isabel Cañamás Mayans
Rosa Pous Martínez, “La Xarreca”
Vicenta Morell Torres
Trinidad Sanchis Cots
Consuelo Moreno Llorens
Asunción Pérez Pérez
Amparo Soto Sanchis
Amparo García Poquet
Elvira Gaspar López
Aurelia Ferrez Vázquez
Pepita Pons Cots
Carmen Pons Cots
