Spain

Spring 2013 I spent five months abroad in Granada, Spain. While there, I learned a lot about the history of Spain and how the roles a woman plays have changed throughout the years. Religiously, spiritually, and politically, women in Spain are not treated the same way they were during the Spanish Civil War 38 years ago. During the Spanish Civil War, there were many laws that were made to limit the freedom a woman had. General Francisco Franco was the head of the government and essentially was the ultimate decision maker during this period. One of the laws that Franco set in place was The Law of Succession made in 1947 that renamed Spain as a "Catholic, social, and representative monarchy" (Solsten. 22). Under this law, Franco was able to chose a king whenever he wanted to and was also able to revoke his choice if wanted. He was the ruler until he said he would no longer be. As a Catholic governed country, a woman had certain things she could no longer do. Spain become a very conservative state, and all of the laws were strongly enforced to the point that Catholicism was even present in the education system. In Catholicism, divorce is not recognized and all marriages must be canonical (sanctioned by the church) to be legally recognized. Contraception was banned and abortion abolished. Catholicism was the only recognized religion so no other religion could be advertised in any way. This Law of Succession dictated how a woman could and could not live her life.

There was another Spanish law put in place called "permiso marital" (marital permission) which banned women from traveling, working, and owning property without her husbands permission. These laws lead to a very strong misogyny environment that deemed a women to be submissive while her husband is very dominant. Single women could not go out without a chaperone and they could often be "given away" in arranged marriages (Hogan). If the woman was given away to a man that is abusive, divorce was not an option so she would essentially be stuck in an unhealthy marriage.

The oppression that spanish women endured during their civil war led to a female resistance called "Mujeres Libres" (Free Women in English). These women were anarchists that were fighting for the rights of women, so they essentially were fighting for two ideals at once. One focus of this group was called "capacitacion", which made sure that women had a clear idea of their potential and skills so that they would be able to really contribute in a new society, with men as their equals. The other focus was  called "captacion" - which meant the active incorporation of women into the anarchist movement (Hogan). Mujeres Libres were all about action, they did everything they possibly could to make sure that they were very vocal about their demands and that they were being taken seriously. In Barcelona they ran a lying-in hospital, which provided birth and post-natal care for women, as well as classes on child and maternal health, birth control and sexuality (O'Carroll). Some of them fought along the side of men in the civil war, they published their own magazine, and opened up a school to combat illiteracy among women. This revolution only last for a couple of years but the effort put forth by many inspirational women had a lasting effect on the spanish society. It lifted the spirit of the spanish women and let the world know that they were not going to be oppressed any longer without fighting back.

In 1975 Franco chose Juan Carlos to become the King of Spain. Later that year, Franco died so he did not live to see the transformation Spain was about to undergo. Many lower class and working class citizens were not excited to have a new King because he was chosen by Franco. Juan Carlos changed their opinions of him over the years however, as Spain became a democratic nation. Many laws made by Franco were lifted after his death, for example "permiso marital" was abolished in 1975, laws against adultery were cancelled in 1978; and divorce was legalized in 1981. In 1978 the ban on contraception was lifted, but there was little access to information about how to use it. During this time there were many unwanted pregnancies and with abortion still being outlawed, this meant a jump in the number of illegal abortions. A 1974 government report estimated that there were about 300,000 such abortions each year. Subsequently, the number rose to about 350,000 annually, which gave Spain one of the highest ratios of abortions to live births among advanced industrial countries (Solsten). Finally, in 1985 abortion was legalized but only in certain cases, usually dependent upon the permission of two physicians. More and more women were entering the job force but because the lack of part-time jobs, the numbers only reached around 33% by 1984. The enrollment number for females throughout the Franco rule and up to this time however, remained fairly equivalent to that of men. In 1981, there was a new law passed that permitted divorce after a two year legal separation. And finally, in 1987 the supreme court decided that it is not necessary for a woman to prove that she did not provoke her attacker to rape her. 

The new democracy was only the start of change for women's roles. Today, there has been much more improvement in the lives of the spanish women. According to The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World (p. 122), in 2005 45% of spanish women were working for pay. For a while church and state were separate, but today you can still see how much influence Catholicism has in the Spanish culture today. The national holidays are often times than not, part of the Catholic religion, and there are countless Cathedrals in Spain. From my understanding, many people consider themselves to be Catholic but in masses it is mostly children and elders that attend mass. I know a few Spanish couples that are separated from their spouses but will not get a divorce because it is not accepted in the Catholic faith, even though it can legally be done by the state. I also know a Spanish couple that is not legally married but they live as though they are. Women now have the option to marry if they want and whom they want. The way women are seen and live their lives are changing. In 2007 thin models were banned from run ways and it is now illegal for mannequins to be less than a size 6 (Lee). This demonstrates that spanish women expect change to come and will do whatever it takes to make sure it does.

Though there has been many improvements in the lives of spanish women, there is one problem in particular that could use some special attention. Domestic violence has been a problem in Spain ever since the idea of "machismo" came along - which pretty much means that women have lesser value than men. In 1997 a women named Ana Orantes went on public television to announce that she had been abused by her husband for decades. Though she was legally separated, she remained living with her husband due to court orders. Two weeks later Orantes was beat, drenched in gasoline, and then set on fire by her husband. Her death initiated the transformation of domestic violence being a personal issue kept in the family, to a crime.

Since the death of Orantes, official work has been done to create awareness around domestic violence and the machismo culture that has increased over the years. The spanish government has invested money into shelters that provide battered women a safe haven. Domestic laws have been created that both shortened the amount of time it take to get a divorce (from 2 years to 6 months), and increased the penalty (Loewenburg). Since Spain's economy is not doing so well, in 2012 the budgets that went to the prevention of gender violence has been cut by 21.6 % (Cooper). There are women in political positions like Ana Pato, the Minister for Health, Social Security and Equality; and Ana Maria Perez del Campo, the president of the Federation of Separated and Divorced Women. Both Pato and del Campo are determined to end this machismo nature and they are in the positions to actually make it happen. Throughout the years, women have been discriminated against religiously, politically, and culturally. They have begun to fight for their rights through social movements and have made political change happen. The fight is not yet over, but the voice of spanish women is being heard loud and clear.

Works Cited

Cooper, Liz. "No more 'machismo': domestic violence in the political arena". November 30, 2012. Web. 12 October 2013. <http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/liz-cooper/no-more-‘machismo’-domestic-violence-in-political-arena>

Hogan, Deirdre. "Free Women of Spain", Workers Solidarity No. 57. May 1999. Web. 11 October 2013 <http://web.archive.org/web/20051023002218/http://www.infoshop.org/iau/spain1.html>

Lee, Janet and Shaw, Susan M. "Spain Bans Skinny Mannequins", Women Worldwide transnational feminist perspectives on women. 2011, McGraw Hill. Print.

Loewenberg, Samuel. "Domestic Violence in Spain", The Lancet. 2005. Web. 13 October 2013. <http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673605178842>

O'Carroll, Aileen. "Mujeres Libres", Workers Solidarity No, 54. June 1998. Web. 11 October 2013. <http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/ws98/ws54_mujeres_libres.html>

Seager, Joni. The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World. 2009, Penguin Books. Print.

Solsten, Eric and Meditz, Sandra W., Spain: A Country Study. 1988, Washington. Web. 11 October 2013. <http://countrystudies.us/spain/22.htm>

Solsten, Eric and Meditz, Sandra W., Spain: A Country Study. 1988, Washington. Web. October 2013. <http://countrystudies.us/spain/43.htm>