The rights of women: From the republic to the dictatorship going trhough civil war

Abstract

At the beginning of the 20th century women faced significant social inequality and could not participate in public life. Notably, female suffrage was forbidden at this time and their lives were reduced to the private sphere. This period was characterized by a strong division of labour based on class and gender. Women were expected to perform unpaid labour in the home, looking after their families and answering to the men in their lives. Consequently, there were few opportunities to seek professional training, increasing the dependence on husbands, in the case of married women, or their fathers if they were single. The Republic empowered women and provided new opportunities that would offer upward social mobility. For example, they were permitted in politics and could realize the potential to work for higher-up positions. Women began to be recognized as active participants in society, resulting in an increase in equality and a shift from the stigma that historically marked them as homemakers. In the same moment, the civil war was taking hold of Spain along with the Falangist conquest of territories. As a result, previous thoughts and ideas were once again implanted in society and reversed any immediate progress towards social equality. However, the dose of freedom experienced during the Republic left behind a revolutionary spirit, one which re-remerged in the final years of the dictatorial stage.