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LIFE IN SPAIN

Spain eyes free contraception for under-25s

Spain’s Ministry of Equality is considering offering people under the age of 25 free contraception as well as the possibility of women taking time off work when they have severe menstrual pain.

Published: 4 March 2022 13:18 CET
Spain eyes free contraception for under-25s
The average age Spanish women have children is at 31.1 years of age, the latest in Europe together with Italian mothers. (Photo by PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP)

Spain’s Secretary of State for Equality and the fight against Gender Violence Ángela Rodríguez wants to follow the example of France and offer those under 25 years of age free contraception. 

On January 1st 2022, French authorities started offering all women aged 18-25 the pill, IUDs, contraceptive patches and other methods composed of steroid hormones. 

The scheme, which was already in place in the Gallic nation for under-18s, aims to ensure young women don’t stop taking contraception because they cannot afford it.

“One of the elements that we have to discuss is whether to finance free contraceptive elements for those under 25 years of age,” Rodríguez told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.

“It is important that we open up debate in our country about this,” she stressed, adding that France’s example was “very inspiring” and that such an initiative would be included in the battery of measures for the reform of Spain’s abortion law.

For Spain’s Secretary of State for Equality, there has to be “a little more co-responsibility” between men and women, although she has not clarified yet whether the scheme would make contraceptives such as condoms available for free to both male and female under-25s.

The Equality Ministry will need the backing of Finance Minister María Jesús Montero, who is reportedly likely to back the move.

Several European countries, including Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, make contraception free for teens. Britain makes several forms of contraception free to all.

The average age Spanish women have children is at 31.1 years of age, the latest in Europe together with Italian mothers. 

Spain also has a lower rate of teenage pregnancies than other European countries, with only one in every fifty births corresponding to mothers under the age of 18.

READ ALSO: How the pandemic has made Spain’s birthrate drop to its lowest in 80 years

Equality Minister Irene Montero is currently spearheading Spain’s Abortion Law reform, with some of the standout measures being abortions being offered to women across all Spanish hospitals, dropping the age to 16 for which abortion in teens requires permission from parents and scrapping the required three days of reflexion before the intervention.   

One of the newer measures mentioned by Rodríguez on Cadena Ser is to also guarantee menstrual and reproductive health by ensuring women get sick leave due to severe menstrual pain.

“It’s a common sense measure. Many times strong periods produce serious medical conditions and this generates very uncomfortable situations at work”.

READ ALSO: Madrid raises age limit for women to have free IVF up to 45

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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