Abstract (eng)
This thesis aims at presenting a historical and socio-cultural approach to the image of women in Spain today, influenced, deeply coined and marked by the repressive regime of Francisco Franco. More specifically, the title of this work translates as “The cry for equality: The role of women under Franco's regime and the consequences in Spanish society today”. In particular, the theoretical part of this thesis concentrates on the aspects of traditionalism, machism, and the influence of the Catholic Church in the construction of an artificial image of the passive, submissive woman in a highly structured family hierarchy in order to intent to explain the situation and the self-image of Spanish women today. The practical part of this work, however, will focus on a qualitative survey in the form of eleven interviews with six women between 24 and 83 years old, and five men between 20 and 86 years old from different regions of Spain. The main results of the work constitute in the realization that Spanish society is still considerably divided by traditional and conservative beliefs coined by the Franco regime today, and the active and engaging spreading of modernist views for Women's rights. The analysis of the interviews demonstrate that, although the majority of interviewed individuals expressed themselves to be in favour of emancipating ideas of women, their answers still unconsciously implied a certain patriarchal way of thinking. In general, it can be deduced from their answers that young women demonstrate a more progressive opinion of an independent and autonomous woman, while older men’s and women’s answers are relatively more conservative. To conclude, it seems probable that the situation will evolve in the coming years and that the emancipated ideas and thoughts that still exist, more on a theoretical than practical level today, will also manifest in day to day life in today’s Spain.