“Wounded to Death” to be performed at the United Nations commemoration of International Day to End Violence against Women
Date:
The theatrical performance “Ferite a Morte”, translated as “Wounded to Death”, will be performed today during the official commemoration of the International Day to End Violence against Women at UN Headquarters in New York. The event is organized under the umbrella of the UN Secretary-General’s campaign UNiTE to End Violence against Women, managed by UN Women, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations from 4 – 5.30 p.m. in the UN Trusteeship Council.
“Wounded to Death” is a performing arts project on femicide − whereby women are killed based on their gender − written and produced by Serena Dandini, an Italian journalist, writer and television personality, together with Maura Misiti, a researcher at CNR, the Italian National Research Council. Based on actual crime reports, it gives voice, for the first time, to the victims around the world through a series of monologues.
The performance at UN Headquarters will be presented by Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and the Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations, Ambassador Sebastiano Cardi.
An exceptional cast will be reading the various monologues, including the Italian actors Maria Grazia Cucinotta and Valeria Golino as well as US talent Monique Coleman, Nora Hendryx and Maureen Van Zandt. Also among the cast are artist Marina Abramovic; Rosy Canale (a Calabrese entrepreneur and founder of Movimento donne di San Luca e della Locride); Giovanna Calvino (writer); Abigail Disney (US director, philanthropist and scholar); Laurie Fabiano (activist and author); Nan Goldin (photographer); Angela Della Costanza Turner (architect and artist); and Amanda Palmer (singer).
The debut performance of “Wounded to Death” was on 24 November 2012 in Palermo, on the eve of the International Day to End Violence against Women. Since then, full house performances have followed in a number of cities throughout Italy and involving scores of narrators including well-known singers, actors, journalists, writers and representatives of civil society organizations. In recent weeks, the show has gone on tour with performances in 50 different Italian theatres.
Violence against women and girls, a gross human rights violation, is a pandemic worldwide. One in three women is likely to face violence in her lifetime. Most violence takes place in intimate relationships, with up to 70 per cent women reporting their husbands or partners as the perpetrator (source: WHO). In spite of significant progress in legislation and attitudinal shifts, violence against women is prevalent in all societies. Today 603 million women still live in countries where domestic violence is not a crime (source: UN Women).
Italy is among the first member states of the Council of Europe to sign and ratify the Convention of Istanbul on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, which awaits the ratification of five other countries to become binding. At the United Nations, Italy supported the adoption of a General Assembly resolution on the elimination of female genital mutilation last year.
The performance of “Wounded to Death” is sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Policy. It is part of a tour that is also scheduled to include stops in Washington (19 November), Brussels (28 November) and London (3 December) and made possible through support by ENI, Gucci, and Lavazza as well as the Equal Opportunities Commission of Legacoop, in cooperation with Casa Modena, Cooperativa 29 giugno and the Italian Cultural Institute of New York.
On 25 November, “Wounded to Death” will also be presented at the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament at the invitation of the Speaker, the Honourable Laura Boldrini, and read by female MPs from the various parliamentary groups as well as Italian actors.
The show is a Mismaonda production (www.mismaonda.eu).
For further information about the event, please contact:
Francesca Parisini - Mismaonda
Tel. (+39) 051.221411; Cell: (+39) 338.4156601
Email: press[at]mismaonda.eu
Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations – Press Office
Tel.: 646 8405 365 (339-315)
Email: press.italyun[at]esteri.it
UN Women:
Oisika Chakrabarti, +1 646.781-4522; oisika.chakrabarti[at]unwomen.org
Sharon Grobeisen, +1 646.781-4753; sharon.grobeisen[at]unwomen.org