At a ceremony held in the capital of Sardinia (island) Province, Italy, on November 28, 2023, the annual women’s award was dedicated to nine influential women making the province’s name honorable and noble. Each of them has served in different fields.
One of the nine active and influential women was Dr. Virginia Pishbin, who received this award for her efforts, services, and commitments for defending the rights of the lowest class and women, especially Iranian women.
When receiving the award, Virginia Pishbin said, “I am not used to receiving awards. I am their voice. The award actually belongs to the girls who are in Iran’s prisons. The young people fighting in the streets. They have been fighting for freedom for 44 years and before that they fought against the Shah’s monarchy. I present this award to the National Council of Resistance of Iran and to its president Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the leader of a movement for women and clearly for men and intellectuals. Men like my father (defender of women’s rights) who was one of the supporters of this resistance. I am proud to have known them.”
The Italian ANSA news agency also reported on this event:
9 Sardinian women who have raised the name of the island have been awarded
Coldiretti’s “Feminas” awards assigned
(ANSA) – CAGLIARI, NOV 28 – A recognition because they have raised the name of Sardinia high in science and medicine, in journalism and institutions, in the academic, agricultural and artistic worlds, entertainment and art in general, without forgetting sport.
Coldiretti Donne Impresa Sardegna wanted to thank her with the awarding of the Feminas 2023 award. The ceremony at Palazzo Doglio in Cagliari.
The award was received by Maria del Zompo, the first female rector in Sardinia, for “a career – these are the reasons – dedicated to research and teaching to educate young minds on the value of scientific research to have contributed to overcoming the gaps of gender in the Sardinian university world”. Then Verina Olla, the “historical memory of the world of bees in Sardinia who made her passion her life”, the doctor Pietrina Ticca, because “the diffusion of the culture of organ donation in hospitals and among the population is the point starting point of a life made of constant commitment to supporting people”.
And again Virginia Pishbin, for her “constant commitment to the defense of the rights of the weakest and of women, in particular Iranians, which is the basis of her life”, the journalist Incoronata Boccia “a professional of extreme competence, meticulousness and mastery, capable of exploring and describing every side of the world of information in a way that is accessible to all”, the world-class violinist, Anna Tifu “child prodigy of classical music, famous in Italy and around the world for her great talent”, the middle distance runner Claudia Pinna “woman of sport, always ready to overcome all her limits in the discipline, is a protagonist in Italy and on the international scene”, Maria Giovanna Cherchi “voice of Sardinia and tradition, who with her great musical talent keeps the Sardinian culture expressed in the song in ‘limba’ and the teacher, Rossana Durzu for her “love for teaching, for the education of the little ones and for the solidarity which were her points of reference”.
The event, organized and coordinated by Maria Gina Ledda, regional coordinator of Donne Impresa of Coldiretti, was attended not only by the leaders of Coldiretti Sardegna, the president Battista Cualbu and the director, Luca Saba, but also by the national president of Donne Impresa, Mariafrancesca Greenhouse.
