The government delegate in Galicia, Pedro Blanco, highlighted the power of culture in the fight against male violence and in the search for a more just and egalitarian society. She did so in the framework of a perfo-poetic recital in favor of equality with Galician creators that was held this Thursday at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MARCO) of Vigo and which was also attended by the mayor of Vigo, Abel Caballero, and the lieutenant of Alcaldía, Carmela Silva.
“We wanted to put a voice to it, the voice of Galician women who have been fighting for equality and against gender violence for a lifetime, being protagonists with their voice, with ink and paper and with their artistic representations,” explained the delegate.
The poet Yolanda Castaño, recently awarded the National Poetry Prize, led the event, which combined the recital of several of the most recognized female voices of poetry in the Galician language to talk about women and their empowerment with a visual performance by the Galician artist Ana Gesto. The poetesses Chus Pato, Silvia Dolores, Lorena Souto and Blanca Trigo also participated in this poetic visual denunciation entitled ‘Traga’.
With this recital, which is part of the programming of events organized around November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Government Delegation in Galicia wants to make visible the role of culture, in this case literature, in sensitizing society against machismo and against any form of gender violence.
“Faced with those who deny the existence of male violence, faced with those who cut public resources, we confirm our commitment to equality, freedom and security for women in our country,” said the delegate, who trusted that the event “would serve to unite us a little more and give us strength to continue fighting this social scourge.”
Programming around 25N
This action is part of the program of events that the Government Delegation in Galicia, through the Coordination Units against Violence against Women, organizes on the occasion of the International Day against this scourge. A commemoration that in recent years has achieved its own prominence in the activities of this Delegation and that this year will have training, awareness-raising and remembrance actions for the victims of male violence.
The events began last week with the handover made by the government delegate to five municipalities of Pontevedra de MAVI: the Travelling Suitcase against Gender Violence. This presentation took place in the Subdelegation of the Government in this province and with it, a set of materials on feminism, equality and empowerment was made available to the citizens of Lalín, O Rosal, Marín, Soutomaior and Vigo for adult and child audiences.
In this same Subdelegation, last Monday, October 30, it launched the program ‘Regueifando en Igualdade’, an initiative that seeks to make students aware of new discursive tools through oral improvisation, in order to face different daily situations from gender equality, respect for diversity and the fight against gender violence, while favoring the conservation of the improvised dialectical dispute as a figure of the Galician oral tradition.
Along with these events and today’s events, the program includes the Day of Training and Sensitization of Security Forces and Bodies against Violence against Women, which will take place on November 7 at the headquarters of the Provincial Council of Lugo. This training, which has already been given in A Coruña and Pontevedra in previous years, will bring together the agents of the Civil Guard, National Police, local police, and Autonomous Police to evaluate the protocols of care for victims and learn about the latest normative, technological and operational developments regarding cases of male violence.
The awareness towards youth will focus the visual exhibition that will host, from November 10, the Youth Space of the Metrosidero ships in the city of A Coruña. In this alternative leisure space, a series of totems will be installed that will sensitize young people and girls against this type of violence, through the exhibition of phrases and images that denounce the most common male and female behavior at this age.
Central events in the 25N week
The central events on the occasion of the International Day against Gender Violence will take place on the week of 25 November. That week will begin with the delivery, in Santiago de Compostela, of the recognition ‘Meninas’, granted by the Government Delegation to entities and people who stand out in Galicia for the defense of equality and the protection of women victims of violence. This event, which is now in its fourth edition, will be held on Tuesday, November 21, at the Hostal dos Reis Católica.
Finally, on November 24, Friday, the Government Delegation will host the reading of the institutional manifesto against male violence. This reading, public and open to citizens, will end with a minute of silence in memory of all the women who were killed or suffer this type of violence.
This day will end with the lighting of the violet exterior lighting of the Government Delegation building. This enlightenment will be maintained throughout the night in revulsion for male violence and against #any other form of violence against women.