A resistance fighter during World War II, Leonilde “Nilde” Iotti was a prominent member of the Italian Communist Party (PCI), who fought for women’s rights. Committed to the idea of a just Europe that promotes equality, Iotti was determined to bring her struggle for universal suffrage to the European stage.
After the end of World War II, Nilde Iotti spearheaded the organization of the Italian Women’s Union, which was dominated by the PCI. When women gained full political rights in 1945, Iotti was widely supported by women voters and was elected in 1946 to the Constituent Assembly, where she was responsible for drafting the articles of the democratic constitution concerning family policy.
She fought hard for women’s rights throughout her political career, successfully advocating for and promoting the enactment of laws on divorce and abortion in Italy, which were high priorities for the women’s movement.
Iotti became a member of the European Parliament in 1969. Her priority as a Member of the European Parliament was to hold open elections for the European Parliament, in which European citizens would directly elect their representatives. Iotti believed that this would give Parliament an undisputed mandate and credibility to act on behalf of citizens.
The efforts of Iotti and her colleagues were rewarded in 1979 when the first direct elections for the European Parliament were held. Shortly after, she completed her decade-long presence in Parliament, a decade during which she also participated in the Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. In 1997, she was elected Vice-President of the Council of Europe, the human rights organization that includes 47 member states.
