Emma Bonino’s ‘right to abortion’: more radical than feminist

It may seem strange and even unfair, but when I think back to the years of militant feminism and the very struggle for the legalisation of abortion, the figure of Emma Bonino strikes me as a sort of logo, a much-waved banner; yet I have no memory of her in the very situations where women’s thinking was taking shape and developing, amidst a thousand conflicts and bursts of enthusiasm. The girl from Cuneo with the short, tousled hair featured in reports on court cases, political forums and the high-profile actions that were turning her into a symbol, but I have always seen her uncritical allegiance to Pannella as a major shortcoming, unlike the case with other Radical Party members, such as Adele Faccio, Eugenia Roccella, Maria Adelaide Aglietta and Rosa Filippini, whose feminist journeys appeared more transparent, more multifaceted and more independent.

Emma Bonino was the young woman who turned herself in for performing abortions, following in the footsteps of Adele Faccio, founder of CISA (Italian Centre for Sterilisation and Abortion), and who, through that groundbreaking act, laid the first foundation stone of a long political career. She was also the one who, always in agreement with Pannella, would oppose Law 194 regulating the termination of pregnancy, because it did not recognise a genuine ‘right’ to abortion. In this respect too, she proved herself to be a far cry from a form of feminism that never wished to speak of rights – and not by chance, for that word concealed yet another trap for women. But it is likely that Bonino, described in all biographies as a ‘feminist’, did not care one bit whether she was one or not, and that is fine. If anything, she deserves credit for her absolute determination to assert herself, and her ability to transform herself into a brand that evokes serious matters such as courage, moral integrity, pacifist and non-violent ideals, and the inevitable emancipation of women – even when the term began to sound reductive and outdated.

I do, however, recall her commendable call for protest in support of Afghan women, who were then – as they are today – victims of a ban on education and the compulsory wearing of the full-face veil. Those were the days of the great opportunity that Silvio Berlusconi, in his first term in government, offered her by nominating her as a European Commissioner. It was there that Emma Bonino, who among her various portfolios was responsible for humanitarian aid, made a decisive shift in her public image, becoming a credible asset to be played on the international stage. Berlusconi even tried in 2000 to have her appointed UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and to that end sought – unsuccessfully – the support of Tony Blair. Her gratitude, however, did not cloud her judgement when she later distanced herself sharply from that experience and from Berlusconi; but it would be naïve to think that a Radical (and why should Bonino be any different?) could abandon the idea that it is her mere presence that determines whether a political alliance or a cause is worthy or not.