Spanish Women In The 19th Century Essay
Comenius Project
2006-2007
Spanish women in the
19th century
Spanish Women’s History in the 20th century
THE EVOLUTION OF EUROPEAN WOMEN THROUGH THE CENTURIES
For most of the 19th century, Spain was a country in which political participation was restricted to a social minority by means of electoral role, in which the electoral practice was characterized by the adulteration of elections and in which the main political agent was the army by means of different “military raisings”.
The first political examples of feminism tended to aim mostly to social demands rather than political claims.
The acknowledgement of women’s social roles, maternity and care for the family, and the attainment of civil rights were
sought …show more content…
The process was a complex one. It was common ground for both left and right wing parties that most women, with the strong influence of the Catholic Church, were deeply conservative.
Some important feminists such as Margarita Nelken (on the left) and the radical socialist Victoria Kent (on the right), who had been elected MPs for the Constitutive Parliament of 1931, rejected the concession of women’s right to vote. They thought women were not yet ready to assume the right to vote and if given, their vote would be in the benefit of the most conservative forces.
Clara Campoamor
Clara Campoamor, also MP of the Radical Party, assumed a passionate defense of feminine vote. She argued at the Parliament that individual rights required an equal treatment for both men and women and democratic principles had to ensure the writing of a republican Constitution based on equality and on the elimination of any discrimination based on sex.
According to a decree passed by the provisional republican government in May 1931 men over 23 were given the right …show more content…
Paid feminine work increased from
1937. Some women have personified these social changes. The anarchist Federica Montseny, first woman minister in the history of Spain, was the Minister for Health Social Assistance in the Largo Caballero’s government from November 1936 to
May 1937. Some revolutionary measures were adopted: the
Catalonian Generalitat passed the legalization of abortion and some campaigns against prostitution were started. However,
we cannot properly speak offeminist activities. All these initiatives are integrated in the war situation and the political struggle that is tearing the country apart.
Another woman who acquired world recognition was Dolores
Ibarruri, “La Pasionaria”. The defence of Madrid allowed her to show her charisma with which she tried to personify the image of the combatant working class mothers. In the atmosphere of the social effervescence proper of a war and a revolution, different women organizations were developed. With La
Pasionaria as a great leader, the Antifascist Women Group
(Agrupación de Mujeres Antifascistas, AMA) joined together socialist, communist and republican women. The other
2006-2007
Spanish women in the
19th century
Spanish Women’s History in the 20th century
THE EVOLUTION OF EUROPEAN WOMEN THROUGH THE CENTURIES
For most of the 19th century, Spain was a country in which political participation was restricted to a social minority by means of electoral role, in which the electoral practice was characterized by the adulteration of elections and in which the main political agent was the army by means of different “military raisings”.
The first political examples of feminism tended to aim mostly to social demands rather than political claims.
The acknowledgement of women’s social roles, maternity and care for the family, and the attainment of civil rights were
sought …show more content…
The process was a complex one. It was common ground for both left and right wing parties that most women, with the strong influence of the Catholic Church, were deeply conservative.
Some important feminists such as Margarita Nelken (on the left) and the radical socialist Victoria Kent (on the right), who had been elected MPs for the Constitutive Parliament of 1931, rejected the concession of women’s right to vote. They thought women were not yet ready to assume the right to vote and if given, their vote would be in the benefit of the most conservative forces.
Clara Campoamor
Clara Campoamor, also MP of the Radical Party, assumed a passionate defense of feminine vote. She argued at the Parliament that individual rights required an equal treatment for both men and women and democratic principles had to ensure the writing of a republican Constitution based on equality and on the elimination of any discrimination based on sex.
According to a decree passed by the provisional republican government in May 1931 men over 23 were given the right …show more content…
Paid feminine work increased from
1937. Some women have personified these social changes. The anarchist Federica Montseny, first woman minister in the history of Spain, was the Minister for Health Social Assistance in the Largo Caballero’s government from November 1936 to
May 1937. Some revolutionary measures were adopted: the
Catalonian Generalitat passed the legalization of abortion and some campaigns against prostitution were started. However,
we cannot properly speak offeminist activities. All these initiatives are integrated in the war situation and the political struggle that is tearing the country apart.
Another woman who acquired world recognition was Dolores
Ibarruri, “La Pasionaria”. The defence of Madrid allowed her to show her charisma with which she tried to personify the image of the combatant working class mothers. In the atmosphere of the social effervescence proper of a war and a revolution, different women organizations were developed. With La
Pasionaria as a great leader, the Antifascist Women Group
(Agrupación de Mujeres Antifascistas, AMA) joined together socialist, communist and republican women. The other