Profiles of women who have earned the power to change the world with ability, passion and dedication. And which, precisely for this reason, embody one of the highest forms of merit. And of value to the community
In a time that too often measures the value of the feminine through the distorting lens of stereotypes and trivializations, a silent and tenacious force emerges, capable of insinuating itself into the folds of society to shake its deepest foundations. It is the strength of women who do not wait for concessions, who do not ask for permission to exist, to assert themselves, to leave a mark. Women who built themselves, going through obstacles, solitude and responsibilities without ever transforming fatigue into victimhood, but rather into internal discipline, into a desire for growth, into an incessant tension towards improvement. The pages of this issue of Women’s Value they return the portrait of a feminine Italy that resists, creates, guides, cares, judges, denounces, innovates. A mosaic of authoritative voices makes up this vivid photograph: magistrates, journalists, lawyers, entrepreneurs, representatives of institutions. Women who have chosen not to retreat in the face of difficulties, but to transform them into concrete testimony.
A cultural revolution Women of justice not only apply the laws, but every day they are faced with human frailty, fear, pain and that thin line that separates law from conscience. Pioneer in the fight against gender violence in Italy and founder of the “Doppia Difesa” association, the senator and president of the Senate Justice Commission Giulia Bongiorno leads this battle without rhetoric, with clarity and concreteness, far from ideological simplifications. Today he leads the parliamentary discussion to strengthen the legislation on violence against women through the establishment of a select committee “which will work both to attempt political mediation and on technical aspects that concern not only article 609 bis of the penal code, but also other figures such as group violence”. Behind every open file on gender violence there are not just numbers, statistics or judicial documents: there are broken lives, denied freedoms, silenced fears, complaints left voiceless. Yet, alongside this pain, a new idea of justice is emerging: no longer just repressive, but also cultural, educational and preventive. In fact, all forms of violence against women have their roots in a patriarchal conception which continues, even today, to survive in the social fabric. And we can only get out of it through a profound cultural revolution, which still proceeds too slowly and discontinuously. In this process, the role of information is decisive. Magistrate Paola Di Nicola Travaglini remembers this clearly: “Words are not neutral: they reflect and reinforce deep-rooted stereotypes. Starting from education and language is fundamental: that is where real change is built, or hindered.” Similarly, Vittoriana Abate – journalist, author and television presenter – claims the need for “a calibrated and responsible language”, capable of describing feminicides without spectacularizing the pain, but rather contributing to prevention, awareness and protection of the victims. Also Albina Perri, director of Yellowreflects on the role of the media in the narration of gender violence, between ethical responsibility, language and the need for more aware and respectful information. The real game is therefore played in society, at every level, in every aspect. This is demonstrated by the reflections of the Vice President of the European Parliament Pina Picierno; of the magistrate Valerio De Gioia; of the president of the Court of Milan Fabio Roia; by Francesco Menditto, who at the helm of the Tivoli Prosecutor’s Office introduced operational models and good practices that have become a national reference. And again the lawyers Claudia Eccher and Elena Biaggioni; Cristina Carelli, president of the anti-violence centers network; and finally Daniela Ferolla, president of the Le Stelle di Marisa ETS Foundation; and Roberta Beolchi, at the helm of the Edela association, organizations that stand alongside orphans of femicide. Each of them, through their work and experience in the field, contributes to composing the complex and painful picture of one of the most profound civil emergencies of our time.
Women and justice: defense of civil conscience Justice can remain credible only if it manages to escape the distortions of spectacularisation, belonging and external pressures. The criminal lawyer Giada Bocellari, who joined Alberto Stasi’s defense team in the Garlasco case at a very young age, addresses the topic of judicial errors and the weight of the media trial. It has always been driven by a profound need for justice. “For me, the conviction of Alberto Stasi was procedurally an injustice, because it was not pronounced beyond a reasonable doubt”. Stefano Vitelli, the judge who acquitted Alberto Stasi in 2009, also speaks on this principle. His book is a powerful reflection on the value of doubt in contemporary society. Natalia Ceccarelli instead addresses the issue of the crisis of authority of the judiciary and the associative tendencies within the ANM, from which she distanced herself after the victory of the No vote in the referendum on justice reform. The judge denounces the risk of a growing politicization of the currents and of a loss of confidence on the part of citizens towards the judicial order. The judiciary must recover prestige through meritocracy, independence and ethical responsibility, avoiding logics of belonging or power dynamics that end up weakening the very image of justice.
Female authority, beyond female quotas The real change, however, does not lie only in the rules, although necessary, but in the collective gaze. In the ability to recognize female talent without considering it an exception. In the cultural maturity of understanding that authority does not belong to a gender, but to the quality of people. And while the world continues to question female leadership, many women move the bar of progress further forward, with the strength of ideas and with a determination that leaves profound traces. They do it in courts, in editorial offices, in companies, in universities, in institutions. From the Undersecretary of State for Defence, Isabella Rauti to the president of ANCE, Federica Brancaccio; from the journalist Chiara di Cristofaro to the MEP of the League Anna Maria Cisint; from the commander of the Navy Ship Alpino, Sara Vinci, to Romina Nicoletti, president of the Italian Delegation Made in Italy; from the general director of Cisambiente Confindustria, Lucia Leonessi to the deputy Mara Carfagna; from the president of the Enasarco Foundation, Patrizia De Luise, to the general director of ENIT, Elena Nembrini. And again through the entrepreneurial stories of Diana Bracco, Debora Paglieri, Eleonora Calavalle, Elisabetta Fabri, Maria Criscuolo, Cristina Rigoni, Monica Pedrali and Albiera Antinori. The best expression of made in Italy. Perhaps this is precisely the deepest meaning of the word value: not ostentatious power, but that achieved with competence and courage. A value that does not need to be imposed with women’s quotas, because it is affirmed through credibility. Which feeds on talent, commitment and perseverance.
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