Women rally against Berlusconi
Source: Agencies |
February 14, 2011, Monday
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WOMEN rallied across Italy yesterday, incensed by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's sex scandal which they say has hurt their dignity and reinforced outdated gender stereotypes.
Thousands of protesters marched through Naples and Palermo, carrying banners calling for Berlusconi to resign and chanting "Italy is not a brothel," television pictures showed.
Organized with an online petition, the protests reflect growing anger among women with the premier, who could soon face trial over a prostitution scandal in a country where middle-aged women have long been among his key voters.
Led by actresses, politicians and other prominent women, marches were due to take place in more than 200 -cities across the mainly Catholic nation later in the day. Protests are also planned in other countries from the United States to Greece.
"We are asking all women to defend the value of our dignity, and we are asking men: if not now, when?" organizers said on the protest website.
Prosecutors filed a request on Wednesday to bring Berlusconi to trial, accusing him of paying for sex with a nightclub dancer when she was under 18, which is illegal in Italy.
The 74-year old premier has dismissed the accusations as "disgusting and disgraceful" and said the Milan prosecutors' office was acting for "subversive purposes" to target him.
The scandal has revived opposition calls for Berlusconi to resign at a time when he is clinging to power after a split in the ruling PDL party last year.
He has survived sex scandals in the past and many of his female supporters seem unperturbed by the latest case, decrying what they see as a puritanical and politically motivated ploy.
Several of his female supporters took part in pro-Berlusconi rallies this week in a show of support.
"We support him with all of our hearts," protester Stella Falcetta said with tears in her eyes at a rally on Friday.
President Giorgio Napolitano has said political tensions are too high and told Berlusconi at a meeting on Friday that Italy risked new elections as a result.
Leaked wiretaps from the investigation have appeared in newspapers for weeks with references to bundles of cash, talk of sex games and gifts that women received after attending parties at Berlusconi's villa.
Thousands of protesters marched through Naples and Palermo, carrying banners calling for Berlusconi to resign and chanting "Italy is not a brothel," television pictures showed.
Organized with an online petition, the protests reflect growing anger among women with the premier, who could soon face trial over a prostitution scandal in a country where middle-aged women have long been among his key voters.
Led by actresses, politicians and other prominent women, marches were due to take place in more than 200 -cities across the mainly Catholic nation later in the day. Protests are also planned in other countries from the United States to Greece.
"We are asking all women to defend the value of our dignity, and we are asking men: if not now, when?" organizers said on the protest website.
Prosecutors filed a request on Wednesday to bring Berlusconi to trial, accusing him of paying for sex with a nightclub dancer when she was under 18, which is illegal in Italy.
The 74-year old premier has dismissed the accusations as "disgusting and disgraceful" and said the Milan prosecutors' office was acting for "subversive purposes" to target him.
The scandal has revived opposition calls for Berlusconi to resign at a time when he is clinging to power after a split in the ruling PDL party last year.
He has survived sex scandals in the past and many of his female supporters seem unperturbed by the latest case, decrying what they see as a puritanical and politically motivated ploy.
Several of his female supporters took part in pro-Berlusconi rallies this week in a show of support.
"We support him with all of our hearts," protester Stella Falcetta said with tears in her eyes at a rally on Friday.
President Giorgio Napolitano has said political tensions are too high and told Berlusconi at a meeting on Friday that Italy risked new elections as a result.
Leaked wiretaps from the investigation have appeared in newspapers for weeks with references to bundles of cash, talk of sex games and gifts that women received after attending parties at Berlusconi's villa.
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