The hall of the Culture Committee in the Chamber of Deputies has been named “Hortensia Papadad-Benjescu” in honor of the writer of the interwar period, according to a press release sent on Saturday by the Save Romania Union. The initiators reported that they wanted to give this name to the “Human Rights” hall, but the request was refused because “it is too important” to change the name.

“More than 25 years after the inauguration, one of the 1,000 rooms in the Romanian Parliament has been named after a woman: Hortensia Papadat-Bengescu, a writer of the interwar period. It took almost a year, and the first USR request was rejected. We were met with skepticism, raised eyebrows, a feeling that we were worrying that we were pushing too hard on something “too small”. This is not a small thing. It’s about starting to recognize the enormous contributions of women throughout history. A history that often erases their traces, successes, contributions, erases them from the collective memory and from our everyday thoughts. This hall is a symbol today. Of course, I am not naive, this is a tiny step to take the direction of recognizing the results of female leaders in Romania,” says USR deputy Diana Buzoianu, the initiator of the initiative, quoted in a press release, Agerpres reports.

According to the mentioned source, the idea belonged to Diana Buzoyan, who, together with USR senator Anka Dragu, submitted a request on this matter to the leadership of the parliament in December 2021.

Human Rights Hall ‘too important’ to change name

The initiators wanted the Human Rights Conference Room in Parliament to become the first room to be named after a woman, but the request was rejected on the grounds that “the room is too important” to change its name. According to the representatives of the UDR. After this refusal, UDR deputy Yulian Bulai, head of the culture committee of the Chamber of Deputies, submitted a request to rename the premises of the culture committee, which was finally granted, according to the press release.

“Naming a room in the Romanian Parliament after a woman has a symbolic meaning in the direction of recognizing the efforts and services that women have had for the progress of Romania, be it culture, economy or politics,” the statement added.