'Union of Mothers' formed in Spain to protect women and motherhood

Madrid, Spain, Mar 11, 2010 / 16:49 pm

Dozens of Spanish women protested at the country's Ministry of Health on Monday, the International Day for Women, and announced the formation of a Union of Mothers” to stand up for the rights of stay-at-home moms.

“The reason we are creating what we call a ‘Union of Mothers,’ is that our feminist struggle has little by little taken an insufficient direction. We do not want to be treated like men, but rather being fully feminine, we wish to be treated equally with the same opportunities,” they said in a statement.

“Mothers are not protected,” they continued, noting that “Sometimes this is because we ourselves, blinded by the same pursuit of career as men, think that being a mother hinders our growth.”

The women said they intend to work for changes in society and in business to ensure that motherhood is recognized as a social good, deserving of assistance from the state and society.  They also called for a reduction in the tax on diapers, an extension on maternity leave benefits, day-care services at the office, and more flexible working hours.

“Now is the time for us women, who alone are capable of giving life to another being, to unite, and like our ancestors in the feminist movement did … tell the state, businesses and society that we are proud to be women, to be mothers, and to contribute to a new generation in history,” they said.

“Welcome to true feminism.  To the feminism of those who demand respect - not masculinity - of women and mothers, of those who work and are pregnant, of the women who do not want to give up anything because they know they can achieve it all, of those who speak of femininity and not of rights.”

Welcome to the feminism of mothers who, like Tolstoy said, are the ones who have the salvation of the world in our hands, who have a will for life and for love to a heroic degree,” the statement concluded.