In a world where sexual harassment and gender inequality continue to be hot topics, one woman continues to rise above it all while campaigning for equality. Laura Boldrini is a woman on a mission to revolutionize women’s rights in a country where almost half of the women do not work. Her political career has seen her through more than 20 years as a spokesperson for the United Nations Refugee Agency and now she is planning to take on a parliamentary seat in Milan, Italy.
During a tumultuous time in Italy, specifically concerning elections, it would seem to be a dangerous place to be a woman. Especially for someone like Boldrini who advocates for immigration and gender equality, two issues which have caused Italy to be divided. Since becoming speaker of the lower house of parliament, Laura Boldrini has found herself receiving thousands of violent threats and sexist insults, so much so that it rarely makes the news.
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Boldrini is under heavy security detail and has been placed at an undisclosed location during the time of campaign due to the amount of death threats that she has received. While many of these threats come from anonymous Facebook users, some of the most intense insults have been hurled at her by other politicians from opposing parties. Matteo Salvini, leader of the Lega Party in Italy, brought an inflatable sex doll on stage at an event and used the doll to make inappropriate references to Boldrini. In another instance, the mayor of an anti-immigration party suggested that rapists should visit Boldrini to “put a smile on her face” in reference to an alleged rape by an immigrant.
Despite the multitude of threats and sexual harassment Boldrini made the following statement during an interview with BuzzFeed News: “I don’t feel uncomfortable because if I consider what I’ve done in my life, how many scary situations I had to pass through, how could I be scared?” Laura Boldrini has chosen to rise above the sexism and continue to campaign for those who do not have a voice.