«È la giustizia che mette in mezzo le donne»: il carcere, la mafia, le donne

«It’s the law that puts women in the middle»: prison, mafia and women
This article deals with the narrations and self and identity representation processes of a group of women detained for serious crimes within the high security section of the Lecce’s prison, interviewed in the framework of a documentary entitled Nella Casa di Borgo San Nicola (Italy, 2008). The role played by women inside mafia groups and, particularly, inside Sacra corona unita, is addressed taking into consideration, beside the scientific literature on the topic and investigative and judicial sources, a visual document which proposes «eccentric» contents, if compared with the conclusions reached by the debate on the topic, and some interventions around the documentary posted on the web. The author deals with three main themes: the issue of prison as a place which is unfit «to treat» women; the issue of the role played by women inside mafia organizations and, finally, the issue related to gender relations. Taking into account the outcomes of the research on the role of women inside mafias and the relevance of direct sources in the study of mafia phenomenon, the author proposes to assume a critic and relative posture toward the narrations and representation processes proposed by these women which allows to identify further approaches toward the topic and to widen critical perspectives usually adopted.