Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is on a visit to Rome, where she joined the “Women of My Time” event, organized on the occasion of International Women’s Day by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the ecclesiastical advisor to Minister Antonio Tajani.
Participants included:
- Antonio Tajani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy;
- Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament (with a video address);
- Diene Keita, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of the UN Population Fund;
- Cecilia Piccioni, Deputy Director General for Political Affairs and International Security at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- Agnese Pini, Director of La Nazione and Quotidiano Nazionale;
- Sister Anna Monia Alfieri.
In her speech, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya emphasized that women in Belarus have historically carried a great deal of responsibility: “In Belarus, life has always rested on the shoulders of women. It was women who rebuilt the country after the wars. Women raised children alone when their husbands were taken away by war, prison, or exile. This is still happening today. It was women who, in 2020, raised the flag and led the peaceful protests. And I believe that it will ultimately be women who dismantle the dictatorship and turn our country toward democracy and the European future we are fighting for”.
She highlighted Belarusian women who show courage despite repression: “Courage is 80-year-old Nina Bahinskaya, who walks the streets with the white-red-white flag, and when the police confiscate it, she simply sews a new one. Courage is Maryia Kalesnikava, who tore up her passport at the border so the regime could not deport her. She spent five years in solitary confinement but did not break. There is always a smile on her face”.
Ms. Tsikhanouskaya also called on the international community to show solidarity with political prisoners in Belarus: “At least 169 women in Belarus remain behind bars as political prisoners. They are tortured. They are held incommunicado. They are deprived of sleep. Their only ‘crime’ is their courage. Today, I appeal to the women leaders of the free world to raise their voices in solidarity with Belarusian women”.
