The old church of San Pedro Martir, today the University of Castilla-La Mancha, was the scene of the 2025 Menina Awards organized by the delegation of the Government of Spain in Castilla-La Mancha in the framework of 25N, the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. … Sexual violence. with “Agapimú” by Ana Belén while ambient music is performed live, The audience sat in their seats until the capacity of this hall was lit up in purple, which is the color of this basic history that seeks the end of one of the social ills to which it gave face and voice at the end of 1997. anna orantes, She was burned alive in the garden of her home by her ex-husband after sharing her testimony on a television programme.
The government delegate in the region, Milagros Toulon, recalled that “this year marks Spain’s 50 years of freedom and building a more just and equal country,” adding that in the face of the uproar of millions of men and women, “today voices are emerging that question the obvious and try to send us to the past.”
In this vein, the head of the National Government of Castilla-La Mancha commented that during this half-century “we have learned a clear lesson: when this country goes forward together, it goes better,” highlighting that freedom “is not inherited, but is defended, exercised and protected every day.”
Likewise, Toulon noted in her speech that behind every award given in Toledo “there is the hard work and pain of many women, but also the embrace, the light of hope and the recognition of their peers,” reiterating that violence and masculinity “are not indifferent to us.”
The government delegate also briefed the audience on statistics related to sexual violence, which are numbers that respond to reality, names and titles. “So far this year, 38 women have been killed, 3 minors and 20 children have been orphaned. They are numbers that freeze the soul. Behind these numbers there are families, there is pain, and the event that we celebrate today is dedicated to all of them,” he said, adding that more than 5,600 cases are still active in the VioGén system in the region. “Public administrations have a responsibility to strengthen equality policies to give meaning to our administration,” he added.
Regarding the winners, Toulon noted that this event is a tribute to people committed to equality and whose biography inspires the democratic values of tolerance and freedom, as are the winners. Anna Belen. “Thank you for sharing your sensitivity, your message is universal and eternal,” he added, also directing words of thanks to the poet and activist Macarena Alonso, “the brave and necessary voice against masculinity through her work and public interventions, always at the service of the María Padilla Women’s Association.”
He also had words of gratitude for CiBRA Film and Word FestivalAs the government delegate considered it “an example of commitment to equality through art and culture through workshops and the Alice Jay Forum which rewards women committed to social justice.”
Regarding the University of Castilla-La Mancha, the representative of the Executive of Pedro Sánchez in the Autonomous Community highlighted that in recent years it has included a gender perspective in its teaching and research work, while at Casa Santa Llupa in Talavera de la Reina she highlighted its work in reception, care and support to facilitate the integration of vulnerable women and those at risk of exclusion, “You are an example of achieving equal opportunities.”
Other confessions have gone to Martha Marcoa feminist poet and storyteller whose literary publications highlight the role of women “reclaiming the importance that history has denied them,” as well as the municipal library of Villar de Olla, a Cuenca municipality with a population of 1,200, where the Minister of Education, Culture and Sports, Amador Pastor, who was present at the event, is indigenous. “Thanks to your efforts to instill values of respect through reading,” the government delegate commented, expressing his gratitude for the work of other entities such as the ONCE Foundation for the Inserta Empleo programme, “a model for job inclusion in the field of disability” and the “Put Yourself in Your Place” project in Albacete, “a good example of work to prevent gender violence in a field such as the rural world”.
Before concluding his speech, Toulon praised the work carried out by both the Civil Guard and the National Police Forces in the field of violence against women, and highlighted the activity of the gender units in the five provinces of the region, as well as the work of Carmen María Zabalo Maceda, head of the Coordination Unit against Violence against Women since last March.