“No woman should have to experience more situations of contempt, disrespect or abuse”

2023-09-13 21:19:13

BarcelonaThe doors of the Parliament of Catalonia have been thrown open to honor the Barça women’s team. The Blaugrana players received today the Medal of Honor in the gold category of the Parliament, the highest distinction of this institution. A medal that has been received for the first time by a sports team, either male or female. According to the president of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, the team “receives this distinction, which recognizes the work of the sportswomen and the club for their contribution to growth, recognition and professionalization, as well as the generation of equality of ‘opportunities in women’s football’.

“It is a huge honor for us”, explained the captain of the team Alexia Putellas in a speech where she maintained the vindictive tone of the last few days, following the scandal caused by the non-consensual kiss of the former president of the Royal Spanish Federation of soccer, Luis Rubiales, to the player Jennifer Hermoso. “The role of women must be fundamental in the development of sport. Society is changing, no woman should have to experience any more situations of contempt, disrespect or abuse”. According to the Barcelona captain, “we need courage, consensus and leadership in the institutions”.

The president of Barça, Joan Laporta, took the opportunity to show his “pride” in the fact that Barça has become “a benchmark for women’s football in Catalonia and the world”. He also wanted to mention the pioneers, who in the 70s could not wear the Barça shirt, and recalled that they opened a path that has led the current women’s Barça footballers to fill the Spotify Camp Nou twice. “At La Masia we have training women’s soccer players, and I think this confirms the commitment to achieve gender equality in sport,” added Laporta.

The journalist Danae Boronat presented the event, which began with the glossary of the awardees by Anna N. Schlegel, Catalan executive, entrepreneur, investor, Creu de Sant Jordi and elected most influential woman in the world in technology in 2020 and 2023. For her part, the President of the Parliament, Anna Erra, has emphasized that “if we are where we are, it is thanks to the feminist movement and entities and clubs like Barça that committed themselves some time ago”. Erra regretted that, despite the fact that in Catalonia the practice of women’s football is a fact, “in other latitudes it is forbidden for women to play football” and that “many women have had to go into exile due to death threats”.

The event ended with the appearance of the Maresme group ‘The Tyets’, to sing live the song “Coti x coti“. When the team won their second Champions League last season, this song accompanied the players, who used to sing it after the triumphs.