Sandra Cioffi is a semi-storm of a woman who churns up the world she inhabits and makes merry, frothing waves! The attractive Italian Member of Parliament was in Mumbai briefly and spent most of the time being sick. Not that it cramped her spirits. Wrapped in a frilly-fringed red shawl, large gold Italian bangles at her wrists, a pot of green tea by her side, she was defying the flu for our interview.

Garrulous and gregarious, in the best Italian tradition, she began to relate her life’s tale. She is a diehard lobbyist for women’s rights and has championed several feminist causes. “Today, women have 17 per cent representation in the Italian Parliament, but for many years it was barely nine per cent. Women worked very hard to change the Constitution and fight for quotas. But the good thing is that the mentality of the Italian public has changed. Today, they believe women will do a good job in public office and elect women irrespective of the quota.”
She continues: “For the last 10 years I have been working for equal opportunities, with a special emphasis on women entrepreneurs. The important thing was to secure access to credit for them. Today, thanks to all the work that has been done 30 per cent of all small enterprises in Italy are women-owned and run. I often ask myself why I choose to work so extensively for women, and I think the answer lies in the fact that women need the push and the platform to get ahead.”

Although she has been in politics for the better part of her career, Cioffi has also been a thriving professional with a PR and events firm of her own. “When I was a very young girl, just at the start of my career, I began with fashion communication,” she beams. However, she went on to obtain a degree in law, with a specialisation in Business and Institutional Communication and helped local governmental bodies and organisations with their PR, campaigns and events. Then politics beckoned and she was consumed by public life.
By her own admission, Cioffi is a complete workaholic. Currently, as Italian Member of Parliament, she holds the office of Secretary of the Parliamentary Commission on Children. She is also Member of the Third Parliamentary Commission on Foreign and Communitarian Affairs. “I love the sea,” she enthuses, “you see, I grew up in Naples. So when I came to Parliament I formed the Group of the Sea. Two hundred MPs joined me to approve and regulate laws that govern nautical tourism, so that we look after the sea, which is very special to all of us in Italy.”

Cioffi is married to the illustrious Professor Francesco Fedi, who is presently President of COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research), which is the oldest and widest European intergovernmental network for research. “My husband is a very patient man, a very clever man and so sure of himself!” she exults. “With the typical Italian male mentality, it would have been very difficult to understand the pressures that a woman in politics grapples with. He quotes Kahlil Gibran to me, saying love should not be a prison. Although he often jokes that to see me he has to invite me to dinner! Actually, he travels all over Europe a lot and our only daughter is married and lives in London – so we are an international family,” she explains.
While the pressures of life as a committed and involved MP take their toll on her spare time (“My days are very long and busy and I have no time for holidays.”), she confesses to a fondness for cooking whenever she can. “I must say I am a rather good cook, and for my annual party in Naples, where I invite about 200 people, I cook myself. My favourite is, of course, the cuisine of my native Naples that is full of fragrance with herbs like basil and oregano. I also love baking cakes. Occasionally, I do cook Chinese and Indian food. When I go to London to visit my daughter, I make it a point to go to a good Indian restaurant. In Italy, you don’t have too many. When I want delicious Indian food I go to my good friend, the Indian Ambassador, Mr Dogra’s house.”

Having had a flair for fashion, what with her first job in fashion communication, it comes as no surprise to discover that she is a chic clothes horse. “When I work, I dress very simply – pants, jackets, a big Gucci bag (very important!), and I just love jewellery so I always wear it. At night, I like to dress classic, but feminine. I buy my dresses from New York, which I visit often. I also enjoy wearing ethnic clothes. I have traditional Malaysian ensembles, and I have bought Indian outfits too, which I will wear when I go back, with the beautiful long earrings I got myself in Jaipur. I think Indian women have a great opportunity to dress up. It would be a shame if you gave up your distinctive wardrobe for Western wear. I really believe all the world’s top stylists should come to India just to study how you combine your colours so well, because Western women cannot even think that something like this is possible!”

Cioffi’s other passions are reading political literature and essays. She also loves the opera, enjoys dancing (“I must start the tango lessons I have been postponing,” she smiles), and dares to dream on....
What is the motto that makes it all come together for her? “I go by the words of Martin Luther King: Discover the objective that the Lord has for you and with passion realise it.”