Valencian Merchants' Athenaeum-UV Chair has hosted the awards ceremony 'Progressive Women 2019' given by the Federation of Progressive Women of Valencia which this year celebrates its 27th edition.
In this edition, which has had a special memory for the former socialist minister Carmen Alborch, a total of three women and a man who have excelled in their fields for the defence of equality have been rewarded.
Thus, Mª Vicenta Mestre, the first woman rector in the University's 520-year history, received the prize for her commitment to education in equality as a tool to combat the different sexisms suffered in today's society.
The award was presented to her by the President of the Government of the Valencian Community, Ximo Puig, who stated that one of the best moments during her term of office was the appointment of Mª Vicenta Mestre as rector of the University, 'democratically elected by the university community and who caused us to live in a better society the day after her election'. Remembering the writer and feminist Maria Cambrils, Puig stressed that the history of inequality suffered by women is very deep, but facts as having a rector after 520 years of history, 'is the beginning of a small revolution, because Mª Vicenta Mestre is a symbol for many women.
In her words, Mestre, who has affirmed that it is a prize shared with the entire government team and the university community, has stressed that it must continue 'the battle to break roofs, transform society and look to the future with equality, because the society of the future, free, inclusive and democratic, is not possible without women'. In addition, the rector has warned 'about a current male chauvinism that seems of low intensity, sometimes covered with benevolence, that conceals intolerable behaviours, such as domination and violence against women'.
Together with Mª Vicenta Mestre, the journalist Agustín Zaragozá has received the 'Dones Progressistes 2019' awards (Progressive Women) for his defence of the need for new types of masculinities, far from male chauvinism and the importance of incorporating men in the fight for equality. The award was given by the University Medal, Julia Sevilla.
The president of the Governing Council of the Valencian Media Corporation, Enrique Soriano, has been the person in charge of awarding the prize to the group of Valencian feminist photojournalists known as 'Les Beatrius', for their involvement and capacity to mobilize in the strike of IWD 2018 within the state movement 'Las periodistas Paramore'.
Finally, the activist Amelia Tiganus has received from the secretary of Equality of the PSPV-PSOE, Rosa Peris, the award for her feminist activism in defence of women victims of prostitution. Tiganus, as a survivor of sexual slavery, defends the abolition of prostitution as a system that violates human rights.
The event was attended by the Board of Directors, numerous members of the university community, the Delegate of the Government in the Valencian Community, Juan Carlos Fulgencio, members of the Government such as the Council of Justice, Government and Democratic Reforms Gabriela Bravo and the Minister of Finance Vicente Soler, members of several city councils and the Provincial Council of Valencia, as well as prominent figures from the social and cultural Valencian world.
The Dones Progressistes awards are a recognition to women and men who have stood out for their contribution to real equality. The Federation carries out numerous training activities such as gatherings, talks or courses that promote equality in the Valencian society. In addition, it contemplates a program of orientation and labour insertion for immigrant women and a specific program of prevention of the gender violence in the educational centres.
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