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FOR THE PAST forty years Spanish women have had to live under an oppressive order carved out for them by Francoism and the Catholic Church. But today, as this old order is crumbling to dust under the rise of the mass movement, women are beginning to fight back for their rights.
One of the most repressive features of Spanish family law is the law relating to adultery. In theory adultery is a crime for both men and women; but whereas a husband is only guilty if he actually brings another woman into the family home, any sexual act outside of marriage by the wife is deemed a crime. In a country where divorce does not exist, this means that a woman is separated from her husband is permanently denied sexual relations.
While conviction for the crime of adultery requires a substantial amount of proof, even the suggestion of an "indiscretion' on the part of a woman is enough to lose her custody of her children in the event of separation.
Nor is this law an outmoded one, gathering dust on the shelves - in 1975 there were 23 cases of adultery