Spain

The history of women’s suffrage in Spain has been characterised by frustration, manipulation and interruption. Spanish women had their first opportunity to vote in the general elections of 1933. The government which granted female suffrage was defeated, and within six years universal suffrage was buried for almost forty years under the dictatorship of General Franco. Spain entered the twentieth century with a parliamentary democracy in its infancy and a population at an early stage of civic development. The small proportion of women employed in the technical and professional sector is largely explained by looking at the position of women in the educational system. The attitudes of the various parties towards women’s issues and hence their vote is perhaps best demonstrated by looking at two issues which directly affect women, divorce and abortion. Both these issues illustrate the persisting non-egalitarian nature of Spanish society.