I have decided to be on the side of love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King
Today, 8th of March 2021, I do not send my Women’s Day wishes to women, I say: Long live the Gentle Revolution! A revolution that must exist every day of the year, celebrating successes, remembering achievements, valuing female talent and skills that have been mortified or left in the shadows for so long. Women want to fly, to be free… especially from prejudices. Cultural and social prejudices that are in part mentality shared, unfortunately, sometimes, even by themselves.
8th of March is International Women’s Rights Day and is associated with the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, which falls on the 25th of November. Gender-based violence is the outbreak of a social symptom of inequality and a desire for prevarication. It reflects a dynamic of possession that has nothing to do with love, but with the feeling of hatred. This sad reflection should never be forgotten, especially at this time in history when economic insecurity, enforced seclusion and lack of sociability are fuelling alienating dynamics within the home that affect women in particular. This situation is unacceptable and can no longer be ignored. All of us are builders of a fairer society, but we must want it, and we must set an example by educating our children in love and respect.
In the West, even though women’s skills are better utilised, or their rights enshrined in legislation, even today their human dignity has not been fully recognised, which is why the speed of social progress is severely inhibited. Everywhere in the world, women must gain legitimate access to skills and resources, knowledge, and culture, and to the challenges and opportunities of this world.
Today, however, rather than talking about fragility, inequalities, and precarious conditions for the female universe, I would like to spend some time talking about female strength. Always curiously labelled as the ‘weaker sex’, women are – in the best of cases – defined as creatures to be protected, to be accompanied in life or to be favoured because they are considered ‘weak’, underestimating the amazing strength and courage that characterises each of them. It is not for nothing that nature has given them alone the capacity to give life!
I am talking about a primordial energy that is passed down from mother to daughter, and that is hidden in the heart, buried under tons of fears and insecurities, but that manifests itself in the moment of need, with the disruptive capacity to sweep away old patterns, generating new ones. It is precisely this energy that makes them survive, that manages not to break them down in critical moments, that allows them to reinvent themselves, changing the face of society.
But not only that: a woman’s strength is loving, it warms the heart, it welcomes others, it heals wounds. Because this great strength has the advantage of being accompanied by the ability to understand, a characteristic that is the real key to the success of every human dream.
The history of the world is full of courageous and stubborn women who have left their mark. Among them, we cannot fail to mention Mother Teresa of Calcutta, one of the most important symbols of the 20th century, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, an example par excellence of the love for others. Another great woman is Polish scientist Marie Curie, twice awarded with the Nobel Prize for physics: in 1903 for her studies on radiation with her husband and in 1911 for the discovery of radium and polonium. But not only science involves the female universe, also art and fashion design do too. I cannot fail to mention the Frenchwoman Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, who went down in history as Coco Chanel and became an icon of the 20th century with her avant-garde style ideas that remain immortal to this day. But the list of women who have left their mark on history is endless.
Italy is no different. Even though our society is still very male-dominated, women have made their mark in all sectors with personality and charisma. From medicine to the stars (literally), with Rita Levi Montalcini and Samantha Cristoforetti; from fashion to sport with Miuccia Prada and Bebe Viola… These are just a few examples of courageous and capable women to be proud of.
There are many Italian women who deserve to be remembered, many of them are mothers, others are fighting or living with a disability, others still come from difficult backgrounds. And they are all around us, but often we do not realise it because they are too strong, they do not give up and they will never give up because for a woman it is never over. A woman always gets up, even when she does not believe it, even if she does not want to: it’s in their nature!
On our social media this week we will dedicate each day to a female figure who represents Italy in her own way, and each day we will talk about a piece of Italian history. Follow us!
