L’AQUILA. The courage of women: for peace, against violence. This is the theme chosen for the 6th edition of the 2024 National Women’s Award. The event, promoted by the Antonio Padovani Onlus, will take place on Wednesday 3 July, at 6 pm, in Casale Signorini, L’Aquila. The award was created with the aim of spreading the message of respect and protection of women from any form of violence, physical and psychological, in the family and professional spheres. An event that has enjoyed considerable public success over time, gaining national prominence for the sensitive issues and unprecedented implications it addresses.
This year, Daniela Di Maggio, mother of Giovanbattista Cutolo, known as Giò Giò, killed in 2023 in Naples, and Filomena Lamberti, the first woman disfigured with acid by her husband in Italy, will take the stage for the awards ceremony. Two stories of violence and abuse that bring to the fore the pain of women in all its facets, but at the same time the intrinsic strength that animates the female universe in the fight for truth and justice. The event, moderated by the journalist and writer, Monica Pelliccione, will be attended by Gianni Padovani, president of the Onlus Antonio Padovani, Stefano Pallotta, president of the Order of Journalists of Abruzzo and Pieremidio Bianchi, chief commissioner of the Anti-Crime Division of the L’Aquila Police Headquarters.
“The national Donna award, dedicated to my father Antonio, opens the doors to the female universe with the aim of bringing out the hidden, yet still markedly present, undergrowth of violence”, says Padovani, “the event is focused, this year, on the courage of women: to denounce violence, to fight for freedom and justice, to not give up in the face of injustice. To break the chains of constraints, at all costs”. During the event, which will end with a gala dinner, “Storie di donne” will be presented, published by the non-profit organization Padovani: a book-testimony that addresses the issue of abuse and physical and psychological violence experienced by women. A plaque will also be delivered in memory of Ilaria Fabiocchi, an artist from L’Aquila who died prematurely a year ago. “The Donna Award has attracted national attention,” says Pelliccione, author of the book, “for the courageous and unexpected choice of the Padovani Onlus to bring to light the hidden, the shadow of violence against women, less visible and difficult to intercept.”
