Italy should have the sense of responsibility and ability to pull together that are often shown by its female parliamentarians, head of state Sergio Mattarella said at the Quirinale Palace in Rome on Thursday.
"Female members of parliament have frequently, when the need has arisen, known how to understand each other, commit themselves and pull together," Mattarella said in an address at an event to celebrate International Women's Day.
He gave the example of Italy's 1975 reforms to family law which ended the husband's dominance in a marriage and in all family matters.
"This is a lesson for our republic. We all still need to have and always will need to have this attitude, this sense of responsibility," he went on.
"We need to know how to put the general interest of the country and its citizens first."
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