‘The Law According To Lidia Poët’ is a Netflix web series based in late 1800s Italy. The series focuses on the story of Lidia Poët. Lidia was the first woman to become a lawyer in modern Italy. She is considered a pioneer in the field and one of the first to champion women’s rights.
The series is made by Davide Orsini and Guido Iuculano for Netflix and stars Matilda De Angelis In the titular role of Lidia Poët. The series also stars Pier Luigi Pasino and Eduardo Scarpetta in supporting roles. The disbarring of Poet is attributed as the cause of a revolution that demanded women’s right to hold public offices and become a lawyer in Europe.
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Who Was Lidia Poët?
Lidia Poët was born in the small town of Perrero in the Piedmont region of Italy on August 26, 1855. She studied theoretical law at the University of Turin and passed the examinations in 1881 and got her law degree.
For the next two years, she worked at an advocate’s office and helped in the sessions of the court. She then took the Order of Advocates of Turin’s practical and theory examination and became a lawyer as she got 45 out of the possible 50 votes.
Still, inducting a woman to become a lawyer in Turin did not sit well with the attorney generals of Turin. In spite of Poët’s arguments and appeals regarding the discrimination against her, the attorney generals upheld that women were forbidden to pursue law and barred Poët from practicing law.
Poët tried to raise the issue with the Court of Cassation of Turin and even gave examples of other countries wherein women were allowed to practice law, but the court upheld the decision of barring Poët.
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Revolution For Women’s Rights
As a result of the court barring Poët, there was a massive furor in public. Most of the public newspapers came to support Poët and women’s right to hold public offices. Out of 28 newspapers, 25 supported women’s rights and the rest were against her.
The people who argued against women’s rights had pale arguments such as ‘the only ones who want women’s rights are women and celibate men’. The general public opinion was in favor of women’s rights and equality amongst human beings in all professions.
Even though the majority of the public was in favor of Poët and her ideology, it wasn’t until July 1919 that women were finally allowed to hold positions in public offices. Finally, at the age of 65, Lidia Poët became the first woman to become an advocate in Italy.
Lastly, the web series ‘The Law According To Lidia Poët’ chronicles the struggles and the journey of Lidia Poët. It also tells the audience how she fought against all odds to become the first woman advocate in Italy.
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