The Italian Feminist Movement in the 1970s Research Paper

The Italian Feminist Movement in the 1970s - Research Paper Example An Italian Feminist Movement took place during the 1970s and this movement led to women being considered not only equal to men but also provided them with their right of choice (Torre 2010). The Italian Feminist movement did not just begin in the 1970s but it transpired through a series of events which had started years ago. One of the pioneers of this movement is considered to be Anna Maria Mozzoni, the founder of the League for the Advancement of Women’s Rights in 1881. She urged the women of Italy to fight for their own rights and not rely on the system. During her time, women did not come out of their homes due to discrimination and advancements and modernization had not laid their effects on Italy (Sarti 2004). At that time women still were speechless and did not have their own voice, and had to rely on the patriarchal symbolic framework, an underlined aspect of Italian culture. This was the aspect which was fought by numerous activists later to come such as Anna Kuliscio ff. She was a famous political activist who through her rebellion nature fought long and hard against the system. Becoming the first woman lecturer at Milan University, she argued against the male dominance in the Italian society. For Kuliscioff, Italian women needed to achieve freedom and equality by challenging the family system which led to an oppressive culture against women. She also fought against the Italian rules which did not allow the females to cast a vote. The entire movement against women oppression faced a setback with the rise of Fascism in Italy. The National Fascist Party was led by Benito Mussolini. Their ideology was led by the notion that considered women as mothers and wives. To fulfill the Fascist dream of creating a new Italy, it was a must that women perform their roles as child bearers. Females were sidelined in the political sector and they were not granted proper rights in their working organizations, as according to them the role of women was to concentra te on performing their duties as mothers. That is why in this era abortion and divorce were criminalized (Ancora et al2006). Union Donne Italiana (UDI) was formed in September 1944 by a coalition of women from the southern province which was at that time liberated by the Allies and from the women of anti-Fascist resistance movement. UDI struggled for the rights of women in the postwar period. After the war, women were enfranchised which was one of the most notable political gain for women. Women exercised their right to vote first time in 1946 elections. UDI started their weekly publication by the name of Noi Donne (We women). Although Noi Donne was influenced by Italian communist party, PCI,it did not lay emphasis on political issues and emphasized primarily on women’s work rights and their needs at home. In the 1970’s, a different and more aggressive group of feminists arose with a strong political orientation and set of beliefs. This was owing to the formation of Ne w Left, the student revolts in 1968-69, the changing values of personal freedom and gaining equal status in society, and the motivation of self-fulfillment. The new issues to be addressed now were family rights, divorce, birth control, abortion and sexual violence. The new feminist group which was profoundly focused on women autonomy in all its social relations appealed only to the radical feminists and left the traditional feminists and their political allies with