Roles of Men and Women

Since arriving in Spain I have noticed a vast difference in the role of local men & women.  There have been a few occasions where I have witnessed men acting superior to women.  I was on a train traveling to the countryside and saw that women were expected to offer their seats up to men. On another occasion during a tour of a quaint museum I witnessed an elderly man speaking rudely to a group of girls.  When they complained to the tour guide she gave them an insight to the past roles of women and how they have changed dramatically throughout history.

The Spanish dictator, General Francisco Franco, influenced the role of women during his time of rule from 1939 to 1975.  He essentially closed spanish women off from society and the rest of the world.  Married women were not permitted to have a job.  They couldn't even open a bank account, apply for a passport or sign a contract without her husband's 
permission.  The  role of the spanish woman was simply to be a housewife and mother.

Luckily since Franco's death women eventually gained their independence.  They began to go to work and more importantly receive an education. They even became involved politics.  In fact today, there are more women than men in the Spanish cabinet.

Spanish prime minister José Zapatero with his women cabinet ministers

I guess the elderly man berating the girls at the museum still lives in the past!